For the many who feel the authorities were wrong to shoot and kill the tiger, it is my hope you will reflect on the truth about what might have been otherwise. If captured alive, the tiger would have spent the rest of its days in captivity. He died free. Freedom. Liberty. Something most humans believe is worth dying for, worth killing for, yet we incarcerate wild animals with little to no thought. Keeping wildlife in captivity is not only allowed in this country, the practice is fostered. What lives are imprisoned at the pet store down the street from you? Have a look.
I do not understand those who claim to love wildlife and yet they want to own a wild animal. They want a parrot. They want a big cat. They dream of owning enough property to have a preserve full of elephants and tigers. People! We have that preserve right here and now. It is called Earth, and you are one among 6,502 billion plus humans living in this preserve who can choose to make a positive contribution. Limit your support of practices that encroach into or destroy wilderness. Consider the effect you are having on the preserve and what you can do to lessen your impact. From the toilet paper you buy, the foods you bring home, the number of children you elect to have. Put effort into keeping wildlife wild. Whoever owned the tiger that was killed destroyed that animal’s right to a decent existence long before. Push for stronger regulations that will make ‘owning’ a wild animal more difficult. Limit support of businesses that profit from selling wild animals.
It is up to those who truly, selflessly have reverence for wildlife to transform the way others believe about owning wild animals into a view that respects a wild creature’s right to liberty. From a wee canary bird to a magnificent whale, every wild animal is worthy of its right to be free.
Another point I must make. As a wildlife rescuer I know first hand that authorities were limited in how to handle this particular animal. This tiger, like any wild animal that has lost its natural fear of humans, becomes unpredictable and therefore extremely dangerous to work with, especially in this type of situation.
Rebecca Dmytryk,
program director
WildRescue, Malibu