Rescued From Exploiter Ring, Tigers Are Relishing Sanctuary Life
Four beautiful tigers will soon be rolling in soft grass, swimming in cooling pools, and resting under shady trees after being rescued from a ring of exploitive exhibitors, including “The Worst Roadside Zoo in America.”
Males Franklin (formerly known as Lapua) and JB (formerly known as David Alan) are settling in at the Performing Animal Welfare Society, a sprawling, lush sanctuary in Galt, California. PAWS cares for elephants, bears, primates, big cats, and other animals who were abused and abandoned by the entertainment industry, and works to preserve wild species and habitats.
Female Sitara is making her home at the Oakland Zoo, which helped rescue these animals and many others from abusive owners. She’ll enjoy a natural setting, complete with fun walkways and a waterfall, and have a large behind-the-scenes area where she can choose to stay.
White tiger Zuri suffers from significant visual impairment caused by inbreeding. She’s receiving expert care at the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, a spacious, peaceful home where rescued big cats are treated with respect by a team dedicated to ending the abusive exotic cat trade, located in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.
All three facilities regularly partner with PETA to provide rescued animals with quality, lifetime care. And they understand well the horrors these tigers endured.
Bred by various seedy dealers—including Tiger King villain Mario Tabraue—they were prematurely separated from their mothers to be used in cruel cub-petting photo sessions. They were acquired by the innocuously named Barry R. Kirshner Wildlife Foundation, a former Oroville, California, facility that held the distinct dishonor of being named “The Worst Roadside Zoo in America” by PETA.
There, the animals were shoved into tiny, barren, chain-link cages without access to anything they enjoy: grass, trees, pools in which they can swim to escape the heat, and room to explore and run. Many big cats imprisoned at the tourist trap developed metabolic bone disease, a painful condition caused by malnutrition that led to muscle mass loss, bone fractures, and lameness. Kirshner routinely deprived animals of needed veterinary care, and dozens died on its watch.
Kirshner stayed in PETA’s crosshairs, and our litany of complaints to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, and California Department of Fish and Wildlife reported egregious violations of even the minimal protections offered by the Animal Welfare Act and state laws. Kirshner racked up citations and fines, and PETA’s complaints prompted a criminal investigation and state-led shutdown in 2025.
As the walls closed in, Kirshner began temporarily shuffling animals through its associated ring of hustlers and hoarders. PETA quickly filed suit to thwart the facility’s plan to regain possession of the animals and reopen a sham sanctuary as we tracked the animals’ whereabouts.
Five tigers went to a private owner in Rio Vista, California. But after PETA’s lawsuit made clear that we would fight to ensure that every animal formerly confined at Kirshner was relocated to an accredited sanctuary, the facility owner contacted the Oakland Zoo to surrender them, and staff immediately began efforts to transfer the tigers. Elderly female Savara was suffering from end-stage arthritis and spinal disease likely caused by years of neglect. When her condition did not respond to intensive medical treatment, the zoo made the compassionate decision to relieve her pain. And Franklin, JB, Sitara, and Zuri are finally experiencing a semblance of the lives that should have been theirs all along.
What You Can Do
Ticket sales keep cruel animal exhibits in business. Please, never buy a ticket to a roadside zoo, animal photo session, sham sanctuary, or marine mammal park, and post polite comments on social media and online reviews urging others to do the same.
