Photos By: Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch
Last week, WAN shared a disturbing video of a young tiger on the loose in Houston, Texas. We are relieved to report that the search for the missing tiger, named India, ended over the weekend after the big cat was anonymously surrendered to authorities.
During a press conference, Houston Police Commander Ron Borza, identified Gia Cuevas and her husband, Victor Hugo Cuevas, as the owners of the tiger. According to prosecutors, Victor Hugo Cuevas was taken into custody on Friday after a Fort Bend County judge revoked his bond on a pending, unrelated murder charge from 2017.
India spent Saturday night at BARC Animal Shelter in Houston and on Sunday morning was transported to Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch, a sanctuary run by the Humane Society of the United States.
“Houston authorities did a remarkable job over the past several days to locate India and to ensure the safety of the public and the animal,” Noelle Almrud, Senior Director of Black Beauty Ranch, who was on site to pick up the nine-month-old tiger, said in a statement. “Black Beauty Ranch will provide a safe sanctuary for him and give him a proper diet, enrichment, an expansive naturally wooded habitat where he can safely roam, and will provide everything else he needs to be the healthy wild tiger he deserves to be.”
“We’re relieved India is safe. We cannot have dangerous wild animals roaming neighborhoods or living in people’s homes. Forcing these animals to live under such conditions, confined, and treated as a ‘pet’ is inhumane and a serious public safety risk—no matter how ‘cute’ or ‘tame’ the animal may seem,” said Kitty Block, President and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States. Big cats like India express natural, unpredictable behaviors that can occur at any moment. Situations like these are why we are working to pass federal legislation. The Big Cat Public Safety Act would prohibit keeping big cats as pets.”
India will be examined by the staff veterinarian at the sanctuary and will remain quarantined for the required 30 days to keep him safe.
“Our hope is that we get full and legal custody of India so that he can live out his life here at Black Beauty Ranch, where he can have the life a tiger should—as close as possible to what he would have in the wild,” Almrud added.
Please urge U.S. Congress to support ‘The Big Cat Public Safety Act’ by signing The Humane Society of the United States’ petition HERE!
