Rescued Big Cats Getting New Homes

by Patricia Collier

Relocation efforts have begun for a large group of tigers, lions and leopards who were seized by the authorities after being found in poor condition at Tiger Rescue in Colton, California on April 22.

Tiger Rescue, home to 54 exotic cats, was originally founded as a retirement home for animal actors.

The California Department of Fish and Game ordered the owner of Tiger Rescue, John Weinhart, to move the animals by mid-June after finding numerous violations at the facility and at Weinhart’s Glen Avon home.

During the April raid, state agents seized 13 tiger and leopard cubs who were being kept in the attic of the house, and two alligators who were found in a bathtub.

Officials also found carcasses of large cats scattered around the property and the bodies of 61 cubs packed into a freezer. Behind a gate in the front yard, authorities said they had found 30 dead adult tigers, some with their legs tied together.

Weinhart did not comply with the June deadline for relocating the animals, and state officials stepped in. An attempt by Weinhart to get a court order blocking the relocation was unsuccessful. On July 29, eleven leopards and two African lions were loaded into a special tractor trailer for the trip to their new permanent sanctuary homes.

Five more cats, two lions and three leopards were transferred to the Rocky Mountain wildlife Conservation Center in Colorado.

The remaining eight leopards were taken to the Exotic Feline Rescue Center in Center Point, Indiana. Another leopard was determined by veterinarians to be too old and fragile to make the trip and had to be euthanized.

Weinhart and his companion, Marla Smith, who lived in a house on the property with her son, face 63 criminal charges, including one felony count of child endangerment and 16 felony animal cruelty charges. They have pleaded not guilty to all charges. A trial date has been set for September 22.

Weinhart also faces 14 misdemeanor counts in San Bernardino County, including improper care for the exotic cats, breeding without a permit and keeping improper records.

Mike McBride, assistant chief for the Department of Fish and Game in Chino Hills, said Weinhart no longer has a valid license that allows him to keep the exotic felines in California and there are no plans to renew it in the immediate future.

Weinhart’s lease on the sanctuary property was revoked in July by Colton officials.

According to the Fund for Animals, a U.S. animal welfare organization, 39 adult tigers remain at the Colton facility and are being cared for by Chuck Traisi. Many younger cats are being housed at the Fund for Animals’ facility in Ramona.

The Fund for Animals has taken on the task of caring for the cats and finding and funding new homes for them, and is in need of support and assistance from the public to make this possible.

More information about how individuals can volunteer and/or donate to help the Fund rehome the big cats is available at www.savethetigers.com

© 2003 Animal News Center, Inc.