Big cats find new home in DeKalb County

Updated: March 6, 2008 08:10 PM EST

By Trang Do
WAFF 48 Reporter

A lion, a tiger and a cougar being kept as pets have found a permanent new home in DeKalb County.

The animals were found in Winfield, 80 miles northwest of Birmingham.

WAFF 48’s Trang Do went to the preserve to find out how the cats are doing.

It’s a place where former animal actors, circus animals, and abandoned pets go to retire.

Boris, Natasha, and Dakota aren’t what you’d consider normal pets, but the trio of big cats was found in one northwest Alabama backyard.

They’ve since been relocated to a new home in DeKalb County, Tigers for Tomorrow Animal Sanctuary.

“We got a call from Joe Murphy, who is a cruelty investigator with the Birmingham Humane Society,” said Susan Steffens-McCauley, president of Tigers for Tomorrow. “He found out about three big cats that resided in somebody’s backyard that had not been taken care of in quite some time, and they were in below-standard caging.”

In Alabama, there are no regulations for having exotic and dangerous pets, and many owners aren’t equipped to provide the proper care to these animals.

“One of the things that I believe we need to do here is to become proactive and to put some regulations in place so that we do know where these animals reside and to make sure that they are kept in enclosures that are up to the standards of the industry,” said Steffens-McCauley.

The lion, tiger and cougar, along with more than 100 other animals at the sanctuary, are doing just fine.

“They have all done incredible,” added Steffens-McCauley. “They’re very friendly. They’re very happy where they’re at right now.”

The preserve is open to the public for 2 p.m. tours Thursdays and Fridays. It’s open all day on the weekends.

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