An Indiana man who turns up in the Netflix documentary “Tiger King” has inspired a bill to limit contact with tiger cubs.
Rome City Representative David Abbott’s (R) bill would block direct contact with bears or big cats by requiring exhibitors to have some kind of physical barrier. The bill comes two years after the US Department of Agriculture shut down Tim Stark’s “Wildlife in Need” roadside zoo in Charlestown over charges the animals were being mistreated. The nonprofit’s board dissolved the organization months later as then-Attorney General Curtis Hill’s office accused Stark of misusing funds.
Stark shows up in “Tiger King” as a would-be partner in a zoo in Oklahoma, working with an associate of self-styled Tiger King Joe Exotic.
Abbott says the entire business model of selling photo ops with bear and tiger cubs is a recipe for disaster for both people and animals. In addition to safety worries for tourists, he says there’s typically no longer-term plan for taking care of the animals as they grow from cuddly cubs to full-grown wild animals. Many times, he says, the animals are simply discarded.
The Indianapolis Zoo reported finding about 200 malnourished animals in a truck at the Charlestown facility after the closure order.
The House has already approved the bill and the Senate could vote as early as Thursday.
