Animal rights organisation, Four Paws says that there’s no information available in South Africa on how many tigers and other exotic animals are owned privately.
Sheeba, a tiger, was euthanized after escaping from its enclosure in Walkerville, south of Johannesburg, after attacking a man and two dogs.
Four Paws says that it has been engaging the government to take action to address the ownership and trade of big cats in South Africa.
“At present, in South Africa, in Gauteng, in the North West, in Limpopo, and Mpumalanga, you don’t need a permit to keep an exotic species animal and tigers being non-South African, they are regarded as an exotic animal. You don’t need a permit for that. What you do need for the database is that they will register from the provincial side if they can get that information. But at present, we don’t know how many tigers in South Africa because the six other provinces can’t give us information on that,” Press Officer at Four Paws, Elize Parker explains.
VIDEO: Sheba the tiger had to be killed to protect lives: Walkerville CPF
