Especially, don't bite the neck that feeds you.

"Illusionist Roy Horn, half of the famed "Siegfried and Roy" entertainment duo, was fighting for his life after being savagely mauled by a tiger during his Las Vegas stage show."

Montecore, one of the signature white tigers used in the show, bit Roy on the neck. Roy is in critical but stable condition.

Newsflash: Tigers are dangerous creatures! Siegfried & Roy have been doing this for nigh on 50 years. They know big cats pretty well. Even with that much experience Roy is in a hospital with half a neck. So if this can (and does) happen to recognized master animal handlers, why are there still jackasses that want to own tigers?

"Police removed a 180-kilogram (400-pound) tiger from a New York apartment in a commando-style operation.

Authorities investigated the home, in a public housing complex in New York's Harlem neighborhood, after a man checked into a nearby hospital seeking treatment for bite wounds he said came from a pit bull, officials said.

But doctors determined the bites could not have come from a dog, prompting the man, identified as Antoine Yates, 37, to leave the hospital abruptly, yanking an IV out of his arm, police said."

I hope Roy gets better. I don't support performance animals in any way, shape or form, but at least Siegfried and Roy are dedicated to animal preservation and kind handling techniques. The ass who kept a tiger (and an alligator) in his New York City apartment should have been cat food.

The City itself deserves some criticism here:

"A second tiger, some cubs, two Rottweilers, rabbits and a tarantula also lived in the apartment, until some family members, including children, moved to Philadelphia in June, taking the animals with them, neighbors said.

The menagerie had been an open secret in the housing complex but animal control officers had not responded to resident's complaints."

So why didn't we see this on Animal Precinct months ago? Best bet is because there are only a dozen officers to cover the 5 million animals in the city. Does that seem a bit light to you? We've got almost that many in Lawrenceville, GA.

So will this mauling of a big cat owner curb the impulses of other would-be idiots?

"He just has a love for animals," said his sister, Cynthia Yates. "There's nothing wrong with that."

Probably not.

Posted by: Jim at 08:44 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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1 Hey Babe-are you going to direct the others to come to this site from now on? I can barely read your comments stuff, above-lose the grey! //H...feeling very demanding today...

Posted by: H at October 06, 2003 09:21 AM (tdh2z)

2 Yup, the official vacancy note is up at the old place. I'll have this cleaned up some time this week. Must handle the master indexes first. Patience, Grasshopper.

Posted by: Jim at October 06, 2003 09:27 AM (IOwam)

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