by Michael
(London UK)

A tiger in a cage, Philippines - photo by Jon^2
What do people think about tigers for sale? Are you upset, appalled or OK about it? Is it a bad thing or acceptable? What is bad about it? How is an individual able to sell Siberian tiger cubs from a residential location? Well here is one person doing that it seems.

It just all seems very odd to me. This is a white Siberian tiger cub in what seems like the person’s bedroom. He (I presume he is the seller but I could be wrong) is asking $1,500.
“We have three lovely potty trained tiger cubs for sale.email me at chao.tigercubs@yahoo.com”
$1,500.00 --- Ad placed 9/16/2009
Item location Agoura Hills
This is the web address. -- Los Angeles Super Ads.
Here is another advert for Gorgeous Siberian Tiger Cubs for sale. This is for 4 orange tiger cubs and it is the same person as above selling (or the same email address) although the advert is on a different site. The contact email is: chao.tigercubsatyahoo.com.
These tigers for sale have the shots, vet checked and are “purebred” blah, blah. This means someone is breeding them in the USA, probably very common. The gene pool will be shockingly small and the tigers inbreed, almost certainly. This also has to be an unhealthy operation. And they seem to be selling to anyone with facilities or not. No one seems to care.
Here is another odd thing. A sick thing really. These cubs are described as “used” in the advert. Ah well, they are products aren’t they. No different from a used car and a similar price actually. A car is easier to maintain though. And it is dead.
In the UK there is an advert that is still on the internet (Oct 2009 but posted: 26 Jul 2008) advertising Home raised Tiger Cubs for sale. They are
“AKC registered, current on shots and dewormmed records and are from champion blood lines and pedegree” (the spelling is as is).
They sell for £1,000 and a Google map shows that they are or were (see advert - this might end up a broken link - it has at mid July 2010) in London (Lewisham, which is south-east London). There is a warning under the ad that warns visitors that a person(s) has already complained.
Finally, I'd like to refer to a one page website dedicated to selling tigers online Buytigers.com (new window). They proudly claim to be the first real tiger store and "breedings" come from India, they say. A "pack" that includes a tiger cost $13,400 (at Oct 2009). Very consumer orientated. Just like buying a car.
Lets try and figure out why it is bad to advertise tigers for sale, to sell tigers. These are my reasons; there must be others:
- The tiger is badly endangered in the wild. Selling tigers creates a culture that gives the impression that a tiger is a commodity no different to any other product. It cheapens an animal that is very valuable to the world. The tiger is an asset to the world.
- Selling tigers encourages trade in tigers, which can only be detrimental to their survival in the wild.
- There are many thousands of captive tigers in the USA but far less living naturally in the wild. Some captive tigers live in totally unsuitable conditions (see Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse, LA
). Selling tigers to anyone as if they are domestic cats is wrong as it ignores all the maintenance and legal issues of keeping such a large wild animal. Are there any legal requirements in the USA or is it that laissez faire? Some states ban keeping exotic animals while others have very loose regulations it seems. The legislation seems to be in a mess. - The whole sordid business feels like a reflection of what is wrong with the “consumer society”; the throwaway society and these tigers are not infrequently thrown away (see Texas tigers are unwanted
) - The people who advertise tigers for sale (like the person above) have a complete disregard for the tiger and must have a low level of probity and decency. They completely lack respect for this animal.
- They make no mention of their breeding program, of inbreeding, of health problems etc.
If a visitor can find the time I would like to hear people’s views on this. A comment can be left below. I also leave a poll just here:
Some tiger links on its endangerment in the wild and in captivity:
Tigers for sale - Photos: they are not published under license as I consider this important and claim fair use.
From Tigers for Sale to Wild Cat Species