For the past decade, Tony, a Siberian-Bengal tiger, has lived in a small cage at the Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, Louisiana. He is constantly assaulted by the noise of the close highway and the fumes of the idling trucks. He is alone in the cage and often taunted by the customers at the stop. Tony has spent the last 10 hot and humid Louisiana summers without a pool of water to cool himself in or the plants, logs and other stimuli that normal tigers would enjoy.

Thanks to over 67,000 signatures from dedicated Care2 members and over 10 petitions started to help free Tony, his long and difficult life in the truck stop cage will soon come to an end. Petitions like “Free Tony the Tiger from His Truck Stop Cage” and “Save Tony the Tiger From His Truck Stop Cage” gained thousands of signatures, showing Louisiana that Tony needs to be freed.

Recently, the East Baton Rouge District Court granted the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s (ALDF) request for a permanent injunction that will prevent the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries from renewing the permit that allows the owner of the truck stop to display Tony.

When the permit ends in December of 2011, ADLF hopes to work with the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to find a place where Tony can live in comfort, away from the smog and noise of the truck stop.

A press release from ADLF’s website stated:

“Today, the law was upheld in the state of Louisiana, which has explicit regulations designed to protect tigers like Tony,” says ALDF Executive Director Stephen Wells. “It is an incredible victory for ALDF, the tens of thousands around the world who have supported this campaign, and most of all, for Tony. We eagerly look forward to the day that he leaves behind the noise and fumes of the Tiger Truck Stop for a new life of freedom that he has never known.”

Tony’s life will soon dramatically change for the better and Care2 is proud that our caring and compassionate members took action to help make that change happen.

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Photo Credit: Keith Roper via Flickr

