Board Turns Down Tigers Again

The uproar might be over. Ventura officials upheld a decision denying plans to bring a Siberian tiger facility to western Malibu. 

The 4-1 decision by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors denied an appeal filed by tiger trainer Irena Hauser, who had sought to construct a tiger training and housing facility in the Deer Creek area.

She hoped to keep up to five of the endangered tiger species at the 7.2 acre home, plans that have drawn severe criticism from neighbors over concerns of safety and compatibility with the rural west Malibu area. In the denial of the appeal, Supervisor Linda Parks sided with neighbors, agreeing that the facility was incompatible, the Acorn reported.

Plans for the facility were originally denied by the county’s planning commission in a 3-2 vote earlier this year. Hauser then appealed the decision to the board of supervisors. 

Hauser and her sister Sophia Kryszek sought a permit to construct a 13,500-square-foot exercise arena and enclosures. Hauser and her family tout years of experience training and working with the tigers. Hauser and Kryszek own ISIS Preservation, which supplies the white tigers for filming in the entertainment industry.