Tiger Menagerie Denied Entrance Into Maine

April 2003

Since a tiger escaped in 1999 from a New Jersey tiger menagerie called Tigers Only Preservation Society (TOPS), the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife had been working to have the dozens of big cats moved to a facility in Texas. State and federal agencies found that the current enclosure was too small and teeming with rats and that the animals were ill fed and not cared for properly.

When the state of New Jersey finally mandated that the animals be moved to the Texas facility, TOPS scrambled to move elsewhere before its tigers were seized. PETA learned that TOPS had requested to move the animals to a facility in Maine, so we contacted state and local authorities to warn them of chronic problems with TOPS and urge them to deny the request to relocate the tigers. We also alerted PETA members in Maine asking them to do the same.

After considering the matter, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife issued a statement denying the request, citing its opinion that the facility had “failed to satisfactorily demonstrate the capability and qualifications to perform the functions required to obtain [the necessary] permits.”

Read more about tigers kept in captivity.