"Rent-A-Tiger" Business Shut Down

[matcom]

<snip>
A THRIVING "rent-a-tiger" business has come to an abrupt end in China after officials raided a private home and discovered that the owner had secretly reared seven of them over the past decade.

Bo Baokun, a resident of a village near the northeastern city of Shenyang, bought two tigers in 1993 and soon saw his sharp-toothed pets multiply as the young couple had five cubs, the Beijing Morning Post reported.

He rented out several of the tigers to local safari parks, but eventually allowed two of the tigers to return to live in metal cages at his home, according to the paper.

Neighbours grew increasingly jittery about living at such proximity with potential man-eaters and asked Bo to get rid of the animals, it said.

Bo refused, forcing the neighbours to alert the authorities which carried off the two tigers earlier this week, the paper said.

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,10793749%255E13762,00.html