http://www.thespec.com/article/237287#

World Society for the Protection of Animals
Two organizations have condemned the conditions at a roadside zoo near Hamilton where Frosty, a Siberian tiger, lives.

Animals and people deserve better
Stringent laws urged for Ontario zoos

TimeSincePublished("2007-08-22-04:30:00","2007-08-22","Aug. 22, 2007");-->Paul Glendenning
The Hamilton Spectator

(Aug 22, 2007) The recent escape of a 700-pound Syrian brown bear from a zoo in Stevensville, on the edge of Fort Erie, is yet another in a series of events exposing the desperate need for greater standards and restrictions regarding exotic animals.

This event, however, would never have happened had action been taken 13 years ago after the death of a teenager by a captive tiger. In 1994, a 16-year-old boy was killed by a bite to the neck by a captive, declawed tiger in Wingham. While it unfortunately seems to usually take a tragedy to provoke change, in this case, this did not happen.

Although Ontarians can no longer own pit bulls, provincial law does not prohibit the ownership of large, potentially dangerous animals, such as tigers. Nor are there any standards of animal care or restrictions regarding safety. Many municipalities do have local restrictions against exotic animal ownership, but these vary and usually do not include animals used for exhibition. Local laws also rarely have standards of care for those animals they do allow.

Since the tragic death in 1994, there have been at least seven recorded cases of injuries incurred from exotic animals, mostly big cats, and at least eight recorded escapes in Ontario. More tragedy could be lurking in the near future.

At a small roadside zoo, just south of Hamilton, lives a Siberian tiger named Frosty.

This particular zoo has long been a source of concern to some people and recently failed two separate assessments by experts brought in by Zoocheck and the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA).

Comments in the WSPA report regarding Frosty included, "Overweight tiger. Very small exhibit prevents normal expression of range of natural behaviours. No use of vertical space. Flimsy construction, barrier mesh on wooden post.

"Secondary barrier gate unlocked. Minimal shade. No useful furniture for enrichment."

For most of his life, Frosty paces back and forth in seemingly endless boredom. Occasionally Frosty will give a small "chuff" of greeting, which for the most part goes unheeded by both spectators and his keepers.

Sundays are different.

As part of the weekly feeding ritual, the keeper invites volunteers to stand within the outer fence, leaving only one chain-link fence between them and the 500-plus pound tiger.

The object of this exercise is not to get a closer look, but to provoke an angry charge from an enraged tiger protecting his food.

On one particular occasion, it took not one, but two unsuspecting young volunteers to finally provoke the terrifying charge at the fence.

Fortunately, the fence held.

The keeper then joined the volunteers and called to the cat in order to cause further charges at the fence before moving on to feed the rest of the cats under his care.

A visit later that afternoon found Frosty crouched at the back of his cage glaring at all who passed by.

Despite the nature of this exercise with the animal and the potential danger to spectators, authorities have done nothing.

The local municipality referred a complaint on this event to the Ministry of Natural Resources, which deemed it out of their jurisdiction as the animal is not native to Canada.

The Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals claimed current animal cruelty laws did not allow them to interfere.

The Welland SPCA said it would investigate but when an update was requested, they did not respond.

Monte Kwinter, the minister of corrections and community safety who oversees the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, and Premier Dalton McGuinty both chose to ignore the situation.

At least one MPP is trying to make a difference.

Toronto-area MPP David Zimmer introduced a private member's bill in an effort to raise standards for zoos, but it died when the government called an early summer recess.

It had received support from all parties.

Public support for the bill was expressed by a 13,000-name petition and a poll by Oraclepoll Research, which showed 97 per cent of Ontarians support professional standards for zoos.

Zimmer has said he will reintroduce the bill in the fall.

What is clear is that animals deserve protection regardless of species and people deserve better than to be placed in jeopardy from unregulated roadside "attractions" filled with unsafe facilities run by unqualified staff.

Paul Glendenning lives in Hamilton.