Opinion: Indiana should ban private possession of dangerous wild animals

Erin Huang, IndyStar

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Federal and state authorities are finally cracking down on Tim Stark’s Wildlife in Need (WIN) in Charlestown. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) revoked the facility’s exhibitor license and assessed a $340,000 civil penalty. And the Indiana Attorney General filed a lawsuit against WIN alleging the facility deceived consumers who made donations while keeping animals in deplorable conditions.

The charges against WIN allege more than 120 Animal Welfare Act violations and are difficult for anyone with a heart to read. They include beating a leopard to death with a baseball bat; swinging monkeys around by their tails; sick and dying animals going without veterinary care; multiple unexplained animal deaths, including an ocelot who apparently strangled; and enclosures that posed a risk of harm to the animals they contained.

Big cats also were fed an inadequate diet and housed in cages insufficient to contain them. Animals went without basic necessities, such as clean drinking water, shelter, and shade, according to the allegations. The list goes on.
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House Bill 1200, introduced by Reps. David Abbott and Chris Campbell, would have gone a long way in strengthening Indiana’s law on the private possession of dangerous wild animals and could prevent irresponsible operators from harboring certain

species. The bill required that anyone wanting to possess animals such as bears, big cats, primates, and hyenas, have a USDA exhibitor license, not employ anyone convicted of abusing or neglecting animals, not have USDA citations for interfering with inspections, maintain liability insurance, file a written recapture plan in the event of an escape, and file animal inventories and records of acquisition and disposition.

A critical piece of the bill prohibited public contact with captive dangerous wild animals. Facilities like WIN constantly churn out baby animals for temporary use in pay-to-play operations.

To facilitate public handling, tiger cubs and other infants are removed from their mothers shortly after birth — a cruel and unhealthy practice that can lead to lifelong physical and psychological problems and even death. Infant animals are subjected to chronic stress from rough and excessive handling and are often controlled with physical abuse. During WIN’s baby tiger playtime, children and adults were bitten and clawed by juvenile tigers.

The cycle of breeding and exploiting baby big cats, bears, and other animals until they are a few months old leads to an excess of older animals with nowhere decent to go. Places like WIN create a burden for the sanctuary community. Tigers in America is a rescue network that relocates big cats from private owners and dilapidated facilities to sanctuaries.

Since 2011, the organization has helped transfer 252 tigers in 17 states and a few foreign countries, plus a few dozen other animals at a cost of more than $1.3 million. Dozens of the tigers originated from just one cub petting operation. Indiana is one of the few states that still have almost no laws prohibiting the private possession of dangerous wild animals.

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HB 1200 was a commonsense and reasonable solution to improving animal welfare and public safety in the state. Unfortunately, the House Natural Resources Committee never voted on the bill following a Jan. 21 hearing.

Without a law like HB 1200, reckless people who possess and exploit dangerous wild animals have an incentive to set up shop in Indiana and the responsibility of paying costs related to escapes, attacks, and neglect cases falls on taxpayers. WIN is not the first troubled exhibitor in the state, and it won’t be the last without a stronger law.

All professionally run zoos, sanctuaries, and responsible wildlife exhibitors in the state should speak out in support of HB 1200.

Erin Huang is an Indianapolis attorney and former Indiana state director for the U.S. Humane Society.

This article originally appeared on IndyStar: Opinion: Indiana should ban private possession of dangerous wild animals