I am little surprised this didn’t happen sooner.
You can’t be buying Pet Tigers, trying to get monkeys and think no one will notice. Not that Darnell Dockett was trying to hide it, but PETA has sent out this press release.
PETA has just sent letters to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Arizona Game and Fish Department urging them to investigate Arizona Cardinals defensive end Darnell Dockett’s reported purchase of a tiger cub. The group points out that Dockett may have transported the animal from Florida to Arizona—an action that is prohibited by the federal Endangered Species Act, the Captive Wildlife Safety Act, and Arizona wildlife laws that prohibit the possession of tigers and other wildlife without a permit.
If Dockett is found in violation of these laws, appropriate enforcement action against him may include felony charges, imprisonment, and confiscation of the tiger.
“Tigers are endangered, they’re dangerous, and it’s illegal—and cruel—to buy them and keep them as ‘pets’ in Arizona,” says PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Delcianna Winders. “PETA is calling on the authorities to make sure that any tiger Darnell Dockett may have bought ends up at an accredited sanctuary—not in a cage in a football player’s backyard.”
It might have been AJ McCarron that turned him in.