POLITICS

Indiana cannot regulate tigers, wolves as pets

Associated Press
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A court ruling that eliminated Indiana's authority over wild animals kept as pets such as lions and tigers could threaten public safety by increasing the chance of dangerous animals escaping from their owners, a state lawmaker said Thursday.

Sen. Mike Crider, R-Greenfield, said the Indiana Court of Appeals' February ruling in a fenced deer-hunting preserve case could boost the chances of such escapes because it effectively stripped the Department of Natural Resources of its long-held regulatory oversight of legally-owned wild animals.

The state Supreme Court decided last month not to review that case. The DNR recently sent letters telling people holding wild animal permits that it no longer has the authority to enforce those permits and rules that include requirements for certain cage types for big animals.

Crider, the DNR's former law enforcement director, said the court ruling raises "substantial public safety concerns" of animal escapes.

"Certainly we don't want Bengal tigers getting out of cages and roaming neighborhoods. The reality is if something goes poorly then we'll have a public safety issue," he said.

Crider said he's asked Gov. Mike Pence's office to explore whether he might be able to issue an executive order or take some other step to keep the previous rules in place until the General Assembly can act next session on corrective legislation he plans to file.

Kara Brooks, a spokeswoman for Pence, said Thursday "the governor is looking into Sen. Crider's request and evaluating the situation."

DNR spokesman Phil Bloom said the court's ruling affected 263 wild animal possession permits, most of those for smaller animals. But 38 permits were for animals that include black bears, bobcats, alligators at least 5 feet long and one cougar, one tiger and one wolf.

Bloom said the ruling also voided 645 permits that allowed holders to breed deer, pheasant, quail and other native species.

"Essentially there are no rules in place now for the possession of a legally obtained wild animal," he said.

Bloom said some owners of those animals also have U.S. Department of Agriculture permits, but such permits cover only mammals. He noted that the DNR still has authority over Indiana's free-roaming wild animals.

Joe Taft, the director of western Indiana's Exotic Feline Rescue Center, said he fears the court's ruling will cause a proliferation of inadequate care for captive wild animals and increase the risk of animal escapes.

Taft said his nonprofit animal refuge is home to about 200 large felines — mostly lions and tigers — and many of which were once owned by people who were unable to care for them, or did so poorly.

The refuge in Center Point, about 20 miles east of Terre Haute, is federally licensed and does not need state permits.

But Taft said the court ruling eliminating the state's permits as well as administrative rules on cage sizes and strength, veterinary and food requirements is "tragic" because Indiana had a relatively good set of rules.

He worries that if the state's rules and permits aren't restored it risks a situation like one that occurred in 2011 in Zanesville, Ohio, when a man released dozens of exotic animals, including lions, tigers and bears, before taking his own life.

Authorities fearing for the public's safety in that rural area killed 48 animals.