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turbinetree

(24,632 posts)
Mon May 10, 2021, 05:06 PM May 2021

'Get your tiger back inside': Caretaker drives off after deputy's showdown with big cat in Houston

Source: Houston Chronicle

Nicole Hensley / Julian Gill
Staff writers
May 9, 2021
Updated: May 10, 2021 2:03 p.m.

The man whose tiger escaped a west Houston home and came face-to-face with an armed off-duty Waller County Sheriff's Office deputy in a residential neighborhood was out on bond on a murder case in Fort Bend County, authorities said.

Police continue to look for the tiger and the man, who Commander Ron Borza with Houston Police Department's Major Offenders division said posted bond on $250,000 bail in November. Borza declined to identify the man. He also said the incident may be related to another in Houston in 2019, where a caged tiger was found in an abandoned home.

Video of the encounter on Sunday shows the tiger lounging in the grass and then walking toward a man with a gun drawn around 8 p.m. Sunday in the 1100 block of Ivy Wall Drive, near the Energy Corridor. Police spokesman Victor Senties identified the man as a law enforcement official from the nearby county who happened to be nearby when neighbors spied the tiger.

Read more: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Bengal-tiger-spotted-in-front-yard-in-west-16164272.php#photo-20969977



Okay, this tiger is an endangered species, how in the fuck did this man get this tiger out of the "zoo" which he the care taker claims and then fled the scene ... this planet needs to outlaw this exotic sale BS or illegal's sales of this BS......you type in exotic pets and I bet you get a list of firms in your area that have five fucking stars .......
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'Get your tiger back inside': Caretaker drives off after deputy's showdown with big cat in Houston (Original Post) turbinetree May 2021 OP
In some states it's legal to own a tiger, which animal advocates have been trying to get Congress to Liberty Belle May 2021 #1
This is just outrageous..... turbinetree May 2021 #2
And another sad fact is that those bred tigers don't have good dna and can't be placed in zoos Merlot May 2021 #3
Agreed ........ turbinetree May 2021 #4
Given this guy's criminal record, I'm pretty sure he got it from a backyard breeder..... LeftInTX May 2021 #6
In Houston it is illegal to own a tiger, though not elsewhere in Texas. catrose May 2021 #7
A while back... mbusby May 2021 #15
Holy cow! People unclear on the wild concept catrose May 2021 #21
It should be outlawed BoringUsername May 2021 #9
There are good reasons for it to be against the law to keep wild animals. multigraincracker May 2021 #5
Ask reps & senators to support the Big Cat Safety Act catrose May 2021 #8
Thanks for posting this! Current status: in subcommittee of Natural Resources since February JudyM May 2021 #14
Hubby thinks creep is drug dealer LeftInTX May 2021 #10
Ted Nugent goes hunting at an exotic animal park in Texas. Midnight Writer May 2021 #11
Nugent would never go on a for-real African safari. Paladin May 2021 #17
Those animals are exotic herd, not cats LeftInTX May 2021 #18
Tigers kept as pets very seldom hurt people. JohnnyRingo May 2021 #12
So, an off-duty law enforcement office. . . Collimator May 2021 #13
Tigers aren't endangered in the US: last I read there were more in the US than in their native lands Hekate May 2021 #16
Texas has more tigers than actually live in the wild. ForgoTheConsequence May 2021 #19
... PoliticAverse May 2021 #20
I've visited the Western North Carolina Nature Center which has several big cats Rhiannon12866 May 2021 #22
Stupid with... relogic May 2021 #24
I hate it when that happens. zanana1 May 2021 #23
They caught the tiger's owner, but the tiger is now "missing" LeftInTX May 2021 #25
"Yo, he just followed me home." LudwigPastorius May 2021 #26
This guy's attorney sounds like a piece of work LeftInTX May 2021 #27
His lawyer's red-pencil-corrected business card: LudwigPastorius May 2021 #28

Liberty Belle

(9,528 posts)
1. In some states it's legal to own a tiger, which animal advocates have been trying to get Congress to
Mon May 10, 2021, 05:21 PM
May 2021

change. They are bred in captivity by irresponsible breeders who often have cub pettings that can injure the cubs which are often euthanized as they get older or sold for canned hunts, or simply kept in too-small enclosures, all abusive situations.

The same is true for lions and many other exotic animals such as bears.

Merlot

(9,696 posts)
3. And another sad fact is that those bred tigers don't have good dna and can't be placed in zoos
Mon May 10, 2021, 05:48 PM
May 2021

for legitimate breeding purposes. Zoos won't/can't accept those animals.

All breeding and owning of exotic animals should be illegal. Whenever someone posts a picture of someone with an exotic "pet" they should really think about what they're doing.

LeftInTX

(24,560 posts)
6. Given this guy's criminal record, I'm pretty sure he got it from a backyard breeder.....
Mon May 10, 2021, 06:03 PM
May 2021

Looks like a nice neighborhood too, not some suburban ram-shackle...

This guy is only 28 years old, in a house, in a nice neighborhood where a 28 year old cannot afford this type of home, and also appears to have capuchin monkeys, who is out on bond for murder and there is a for sale sign in the home's yard.

It's one of those weird stories....

(Maybe he's also involved with some illegal animal trade because he must be getting his money from somewhere)

catrose

(5,050 posts)
7. In Houston it is illegal to own a tiger, though not elsewhere in Texas.
Mon May 10, 2021, 06:11 PM
May 2021

Sanctuaries have offered to take this tiger. I hope that works out.

mbusby

(822 posts)
15. A while back...
Mon May 10, 2021, 07:17 PM
May 2021

...in Houston we did a double take when we saw a male lion standing up front between the two front seats in a van going south on I-45.

BoringUsername

(142 posts)
9. It should be outlawed
Mon May 10, 2021, 06:15 PM
May 2021

It is not good for the animal, but also not good for the neighborhood. That animal just doesn't belong there. I would not want to live next door to someone keeping a dangerous animal like tiger as pet.

multigraincracker

(32,531 posts)
5. There are good reasons for it to be against the law to keep wild animals.
Mon May 10, 2021, 06:02 PM
May 2021

They belong in the wild or with trained experts like at zoos. I lived with a rehabber and there were all kinds of wild animals in and around the house, including bobcats, foxes, raccoons and hawks and eagles to name a few. They were miserable there and very dangerous.

catrose

(5,050 posts)
8. Ask reps & senators to support the Big Cat Safety Act
Mon May 10, 2021, 06:14 PM
May 2021

The House passed it last year, and then it went to McConnell's graveyard.

JudyM

(29,122 posts)
14. Thanks for posting this! Current status: in subcommittee of Natural Resources since February
Mon May 10, 2021, 07:17 PM
May 2021
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/263/all-actions?r=3&overview=closed&s=1#tabs

Apparently it was reintroduced in the Senate but I didn’t locate that in a quick search: https://awionline.org/press-releases/big-cat-public-safety-act-reintroduced-senate

House Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife Members:

Dems:
Jared Huffman, California, Chair
Grace Napolitano, California
Jim Costa, California
Mike Levin, California
Debbie Dingell, Michigan
Ed Case, Hawaii
Doris Matsui, California
Alan Lowenthal, California
Steve Cohen, Tennessee
Darren Soto, Florida
Raúl Grijalva, Arizona
Nydia Velázquez, New York

Repugs:
Cliff Bentz, Oregon, Ranking Member
Jerry Carl, Alabama, Vice Ranking Member
Don Young, Alaska
Rob Wittman, Virginia
Tom McClintock, California
Garret Graves, Louisiana
Amata Coleman Radewagen, American Samoa
Daniel Webster, Florida
Jenniffer González, Puerto Rico
Russ Fulcher, Idaho
Lauren Boebert, Colorado

Ex officio
Raúl Grijalva, Arizona
Bruce Westerman, Arkansas

LeftInTX

(24,560 posts)
10. Hubby thinks creep is drug dealer
Mon May 10, 2021, 06:32 PM
May 2021
https://abc13.com/tiger-and-owner-wanted-in-houston-after-ditching-police-in-high-speed-pursuit/10609030/

Borza said Cuevas is leasing the Houston residence, described in real estate ads as a 4,541-square-foot, five-bedroom, four-bathroom house.


That's up there with Tony Montana stuff..LOL

Midnight Writer

(21,548 posts)
11. Ted Nugent goes hunting at an exotic animal park in Texas.
Mon May 10, 2021, 06:56 PM
May 2021

He says that when these animals get old or sick, they are culled from the park.

So, instead of putting the animals to sleep humanely, they allow hunters to have some fun with them.

LeftInTX

(24,560 posts)
18. Those animals are exotic herd, not cats
Mon May 10, 2021, 07:31 PM
May 2021

Exotic big game are quite popular on hunting ranches in Texas. Those animals are basically raised for hunting.
I assume these ranches have gotta be popular in other states too.

Hunting ranches are fairly pervasive down here, but probably do not include endangered species.
They don't include carnivores such as big cats, bears etc.

The guy with this tiger is probably a drug dealer. (28 year old who is living in a 4,500 sq ft home)
He is already on bond for murder. Ted Nugent is disgusting, but this is apples and oranges....

JohnnyRingo

(18,581 posts)
12. Tigers kept as pets very seldom hurt people.
Mon May 10, 2021, 06:58 PM
May 2021

...because hardly anyone is stupid enough to keep one at home.
Mike Tyson comes to mind.

Collimator

(1,639 posts)
13. So, an off-duty law enforcement office. . .
Mon May 10, 2021, 07:09 PM
May 2021

. . . armed with a gun, encounters one of the dangerous animals in the world wandering around an upscale neighborhood.

The animal is NOT shot on sight, which tells us that it wasn't a Black man.

(Yes, I am being sarcastic and no, I don't believe that Black men are inherently dangerous, in case someone has missed the point.)

Hekate

(90,202 posts)
16. Tigers aren't endangered in the US: last I read there were more in the US than in their native lands
Mon May 10, 2021, 07:17 PM
May 2021

Further, American tigers are almost entirely in private hands.

This is nuts, and it truly should be outlawed.

ForgoTheConsequence

(4,846 posts)
19. Texas has more tigers than actually live in the wild.
Mon May 10, 2021, 10:45 PM
May 2021

"In Texas, it is easier to own a tiger than a dog that's been labeled as dangerous. It's estimated there could be from 2,000 to 5,000 tigers living in this southern state of the United States — meaning Texas could have more tigers than the roughly 3,800 tigers living in the wild globally."

https://www.dw.com/en/tigers-prowl-texas-backyards/a-44347435

Rhiannon12866

(203,029 posts)
22. I've visited the Western North Carolina Nature Center which has several big cats
Tue May 11, 2021, 06:40 AM
May 2021

It's a sanctuary for animals who can no longer live in the wild and apparently these big cats were originally kept as pets. People can be incredibly stupid.

relogic

(155 posts)
24. Stupid with...
Tue May 11, 2021, 10:28 AM
May 2021

an egregious amount of cruelty. The detachment from empathy for wild and pet creatures in the vast population of “humans” never surprises me-a sad commentary in the alternate universe where sensitivity to these suffering animals is considered a weakness in your character.

LeftInTX

(24,560 posts)
25. They caught the tiger's owner, but the tiger is now "missing"
Tue May 11, 2021, 01:21 PM
May 2021

(CNN)Houston authorities have captured a man who allegedly evaded police while housing a Bengal tiger in a yard, but the tiger remains on the lam.

"The whereabouts of the tiger are not yet known," Houston police tweeted Monday.

Victor Hugo Cuevas, 26, was out on bond for a prior murder charge in Fort Bend County on Monday morning when neighbors spotted the big cat in a front yard, Houston Police Commander Ron Borza said in a news conference.

There were also reports that the suspect had monkeys, which are allowed in the city, Borza said. Owning a tiger is a violation of Houston law, but it is legal under Texas state law with certain restrictions.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/10/us/houston-tiger-murder-suspect-trnd/index.html


Cuevas says he does not own the tiger......

LeftInTX

(24,560 posts)
27. This guy's attorney sounds like a piece of work
Tue May 11, 2021, 01:34 PM
May 2021
Elliott expressed outrage over the arrest, accusing HPD of neglecting its part of an agreement for Cuevas to turn himself in at the Harris County Joint Processing Center downtown.

Instead, Cuevas was arrested and taken to the Fort Bend County Jail for violating his bond on a 2017 murder charge, and evading arrest.

“All they want to do is lock people up and presume them to be guilty, and let them try to figure it out later. It’s terrible,” Elliott said, adding Cuevas has been implicated in a trove of assumptions that are not true. “Because my client was the one who caught this tiger, who went out and got it, brought it back to safety, everyone is just assuming that he’s the owner of the tiger and that it’s his tiger,” Elliott said.

Elliot said although his client does not own the tiger, he could not elaborate on his connection to the animal. He also said that Cuevas is working with authorities to locate the owner and the tiger.

https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2021/05/10/tiger-owner-spotted-in-houston-neighborhood-is-out-on-bond-on-a-murder-charge-officials-say/


Cuevas is out on bond for murder.....
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