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The author of Louisiana's 2006 law pro-
hibiting private ownership of big cats is
suing the state over a new law that allows
Tony the Tiger to remain at the tiger's
truck stop home.
Former Democrat Rep. Warren Triche
Jr. and the Animal Legal Defense Fund
filed suit in East Baton Rouge District
Court after Gov. Bobby Jindal signed
the bill into law June 18. Animal rights
organizations had asked the Re-
publican governor to veto the leg-
islation that exempts individuals
who owned big cats at the time
Triche's law became effective.
In May, the Senate had voted
20-18 and the House 68-27 in
favor of Republican Sen. Rick
Ward's bill, which effectively
grants sole exemption to Tiger
Truck Stop owner Michael
Sandlin. Tony, a 14-year-old
Siberian-Bengal tiger, has been
displayed at Sandlin's Grosse Tete
truck stop home since he was a
few months old.
The U.S. Supreme Court
rejected Sandlin's bid for the high
court to hear his appeal to a lower
court's ruling that he could not
keep the tiger. Louisiana's new
law allows him to do so, as the
court rulings saying he couldn't
were based on the previous law.
Triche and the nonprofit
ALDF say the exemption
violates Louisiana's constitutional
prohibition against laws granting
exclusive benefits to a private
individual or interest.
"Tony's situation played a
principal role in passing the 2006
bill, as he was a perfect exam-
ple of why such legislation was
needed," Triche stated in a June
25 ALDF media release.
The new case was filed in the
same court where the ALDF and
Triche successfully argued that
the Louisiana Department of
Wildlife and Fisheries unlawfully
issued Sandlin a permit. Last year,
the state appeals court upheld
that decision, which the Louisiana
Supreme Court let stand.
The suit names LDWF, the
State of Louisiana, the Lou-
isiana Wildlife and Fisheries
Commission, Tiger Truck Stop
and Sandlin. – Jill Dunn
Legal wrangling continues over tiger