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WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society is a national 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation dedicated to ensuring a wild future for all wildcats.
The mission of the WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society is to protect and defend all native and non-native wildcats.
Continued on About Us
ON THE PROWL
The American Tiger
"Privately owned pampered American tigers are fatter, live longer and have never had to hunt for their dinner. Many Scientists believe these tigers serve no purpose and call them 'junk tigers.' Others believe their unique genetic
makeup could help save wild populations. But no one really knows if these captive bred tigers can be taught to hunt and be re-introduced into the wild. And many of these tigers are a mixture of different subspecies, which scientists claim makes them ineligible for re-introduction."
Montreal-based Peripheria Productions presents a startling and very up-close and personal look at the debate over
Part of the debate involves the issues and effectiveness of the federal, state, and local laws related to the private ownership of tigers. Watch closely for interview segments with Lisa Ann Tekancic, president of WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society, as she explains the legal complexities of the controversy.
Action Alert Update!
U.S. Department of the Interior; Fish and Wildlife Service
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; U.S. Captive-Bred Inter-Subspecific Crossed or Generic Tigers; Proposed
Rule
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) proposed to "amend the regulations that implement the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by removing inter-subspecific crossed or generic tiger; specimens not identified or identifiable as members of Bengal, Sumatran, Siberian, or Indochinese subspecies from the list of species that are exempt from registration under the Captive-bred Wildlife (CBW) regulations. The exemption currently allows those individuals or breeding operations who want to conduct otherwise prohibited activities, such as take, interstate commerce, and export, under the ESA with U.S. captive-bred, live inter-subspecific crossed or generic tigers to do so without becoming registered. USFWS is proposing this change to the regulations to strengthen control over captive breeding of tigers in the United States to ensure that such breeding supports the conservation of the species in the wild consistent with the purposes of the ESA. The inter-subspecific crossed or generic tigers remain listed as endangered under the ESA, and a person would need to obtain authorization under the current statutory and regulatory requirements to conduct any otherwise prohibited activities with them."
The public comment period ended on October 21, 2011. USFWS received over 15,000 public comments on the proposed rule!
WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society is in support of the proposed rule. Read our comment here!
Background information on the proposed rule is contained in the following Federal Register Notices:
Federal Register Notice: Generic Tiger Proposed Rule
Federal Register Notice to extend comment period to October 21, 2011
Journal of the WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society
Winter 2010 ~ Volume IV is now available!
Publications
Mongabay: "Dangerous and exploitative: a look at pet wild cats"
Lisa Ann Tekancic, president of the WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society spoke with Laurel Neme on her The WildLife radio show and podcast about captive wildcats and the wildcat pet trade. During her interview, Lisa describes the history of wildcats in captivity--from the Roman spectator games and royal menageries--to their current status as private pets; for commercial use in the entertainment industry, roadside zoos, and pseudo-sanctuaries; the ill affects and dangers involved with keeping wildcats; and provides an overview of the current applicable federal, state, and local laws. She notes the only thing that is predictable about a wildcat is its unpredictability; that wildcats will always be wild despite years of captive breeding. A podcast of the interview is available at: www.laurelneme.com
Test your "Captive" Big Cat Knowledge ~ Take Animal Planet's Fatal Attractions Quiz! Pay close attention to the Question and Answer to Number 7! www.animal.discovery.com
WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society is partnering with The Kerulos Center's Sacred Bones, an educate to action program for wildlife renewal. "Saving animal kin requires crafting ways of living that support nature and builds the capacity to make change. Sacred Bones was designed to catalyze this process of reconciliation and responsibility." ~ G.A. Bradshaw, PhD, Executive Director, The Kerulos Center. For more information on the Sacred Bones educational journey, please visit: www.kerulos.org
WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society is a member organization of the International Tiger Coalition!
Read MoreWildcat News
Tony the Truck Stop Tiger Update!
On January 30, 2012, ALDF reported that last week, Judge Caldwell denied a motion brought by Michael Sandlin and the Tiger Truck Stop. Sandlin was seeking to suspend Judge Caldwell's November 2011 order, instructing the Louisianna Department of Wildlife & Fisheries (LDWF) to revoke Sandlin's permit allowing him to keep Tony at the truck stop. Sandlin, however, has filed a lawsuit against LDWF. LDWF is temporarily restrained from taking any action to remove Tony from the truck stop. Please visit ALDF for additional information on Tony's case.
Puma Update!
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officially declared the eastern cougar to be extinct. A report released by USFWS in March 2011, concluded that the cat is extinct and should be removed from the Endangered Species list. Meanwhile in Oregon, a proposed bill to reintroduce hunting of cougars with hounds that past in the House, died in the Senate. The Senate Committee never scheduled it for debate, effectively killing the bill without discussion. Hound hunting advocates were pushing the bill in the Oregon Legislature since voters in the state twice rejected the practice for bears and cougars in the mid-1990s. In Washington, state lawmakers are debating the extension of a pilot program that allows counties to opt into cougar hunting with hounds in conjunction with the science of cougar management, reforming cougar boot hunt policy and increasing penalities assessed for cougar poaching. A meeting to discuss cougar conservation and management and policy issues will be held in June 2011. The Fish and Wildlife Commission must adopt initial rules by September 30, 2011. In depth articles on the status of Florida panthers were recently published in the Journal of the WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society, Winter 2010, Vol. IV.
State of Conservation of Serengeti National Park
The United Republic of Tanzania, Minister of Natural Resources and Toursim, Ezekiel Maige, stated in a letter dated June 22, 2011, to the Director of the World Heritage Centre in Paris, clarifying the proposed tarmac road in northern Tanzania, that "the State Party confirms that the proposed road will not dissect the Serengeti National Park, and therefore will not affect the migration and conservation values of the Property."
State of Conservation of Serengeti National Park
CONVENTION ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN ENDANGERED SPECIES OF WILD FAUNA AND FLORA (CITES), Fifteenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP15), March 2010
More on CoP15 . . .
WildCat Advocate, our quarterly newsletter, features the latest news and events affecting wildcats from around the world! June-December 2010 & March 2011 issues of WildCat Advocate will be posted soon!
September-December 2010
June 2010
March 2010
Please visit our Publications page for WildCat Advocate issues from 2009.
Publications
WILDCAT CHAT
WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society's president, Lisa Ann Tekancic, shares her thoughts on wildcat issues.
♦ July 2010 ~ Shooting in the Wild: An Insider's Account of Making Movies in the Animal Kingdom, by Chris Palmer
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