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This is a #thread compiling resources for animal advocates who, like myself, watched #TigerKing 
and had questions. My biggest questions were:
To what extent do US laws enable wildlife abusers to operate, and 
Do we have a similar big cat situation in Europe?
#CaptivityKills
and had questions. My biggest questions were:To what extent do US laws enable wildlife abusers to operate, and Do we have a similar big cat situation in Europe?#CaptivityKills
As an introduction, here are a couple of excellent pieces on the situation of private ownership of big cats in the US, beyond the one sensational case of Joe Exotic:
By the @washingtonpost: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/investigations/captive-tigers-america/
By the @washingtonpost: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/investigations/captive-tigers-america/
By @NatGeo from last December, which already featured abusers who appear in the docu-series (and quoting @carney__anne) https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/11/tigers-in-the-united-states-outnumber-those-in-the-wild-feature/
To return to my 1st question: how is it legal to keep big cats and abuse them?
I immediately turned to @DelciannaW's scholarship and experience on the topic. Among many other world class appointments, Delci was the Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement for @peta.
I immediately turned to @DelciannaW's scholarship and experience on the topic. Among many other world class appointments, Delci was the Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement for @peta.
So here you go for some expert knowledge: https://twitter.com/DelciannaW/status/1247161691927797767
Also make sure to check Delci's scholarship at the intersections of #AnimalLaw and administrative law ( https://bit.ly/2wfdSk2 ). No one knows more than her on USDA inspections of animal exhibitors under the Animal Welfare Act.
You can also listen to Deci talk about her work on the enforcement of the AWA by the USDA on the excellent @ourhenhouse #AnimalLaw podcast hosted by @marisul Episode #15: https://bit.ly/34e7s1j
Episode #21: https://bit.ly/3dVNCfP
Episode #21: https://bit.ly/3dVNCfP
Furthermore, I highly recommend @ALDF webinar: "Tiger King Questions Answered 2020" with @AliciaPrygoski and my dear friend and former classmate @cillarad: https://aldf.org/article/webinars/tiger-king-questions-answered/
Or here for a shorter, article version: https://people.com/pets/tiger-king-us-exotic-pet-ownership-laws/ via @people
Of course, I should also mention @Brittany_K_Peet, @peta's Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement who does amazing work for the animals. She is featured in the documentary, and testified at Maldonado-Passage's trial – here in @harpersbazaarus: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/culture/culture-news/a32015795/tiger-king-joe-exotic-peta-response/
To @THR, she says about Big Cat Rescue:
"They're accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, which is the gold standard accrediting body for sanctuaries around the world. They provide the best standards for captive wildlife care [...]." https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tiger-king-peta-lawyer-brittany-peet-joe-exotic-netflix-series-1288397
"They're accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, which is the gold standard accrediting body for sanctuaries around the world. They provide the best standards for captive wildlife care [...]." https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tiger-king-peta-lawyer-brittany-peet-joe-exotic-netflix-series-1288397
Also check @peta's response to #TigerKing :
"The series largely skips over serious issues of #AnimalWelfare, including the horrors of cub trafficking and the problems with commercial cub-petting attractions." https://www.peta.org/blog/netflix-tiger-king-peta/
: "The series largely skips over serious issues of #AnimalWelfare, including the horrors of cub trafficking and the problems with commercial cub-petting attractions." https://www.peta.org/blog/netflix-tiger-king-peta/
@peta has a podcast episode dedicated to Joe Exotic case, and where Brittany Peet shares her behind the scenes story about how she was called on to be his only character witness at trial: https://petapodcast.libsyn.com/ep113-how-peta-tamed-tiger-king-joe-exotic
Before I turn to the situation in Europe, here's a recent, happy ending story about the rescue of a privately-owned tiger in Houston: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/tiger-king-netflix-garage-lady-pet-house-exotic-15174113.php#photo-19252101
Is the private ownership of big cats also happening in Europe (EU)?@fourpawsint has a full report on the issue, where the organization observed that EU countries "do not have an accurate overview of [the number of tigers kept in captivity.]": https://tigertrade.four-paws.org/europes-second-class-tigers
And here's an interesting map excerpted from the report:
The seizure of big cat cubs has multiplied these last few years in Europe, including in France, @lejdd reports: https://www.lejdd.fr/Societe/bebes-fauves-enquete-sur-un-nouveau-trafic-3936152
Circuses, which are allowed to breed them and use them for pay-to-play activities, seem to provide the supply of cubs to private individual (also reported by Four Paws): https://www.30millionsdamis.fr/actualites/article/18270-sauvetage-encore-un-lionceau-abandonne/
Such is the case of the Zavatta circus. If big cat trafficking in Europe is linked to circuses, banning the use of wild animals in circuses could thus help curbing this issue. https://www.lechorepublicain.fr/dreux-28100/loisirs/des-bebes-tigres-vedettes-du-cirque-nicolas-zavatta-a-dreux_13749877/#refresh
End. Thanks for reading!
