LETTER: Tiger act on the Strip is inappropriate

Having visited a real tiger sanctuary many times, I feel compelled to address illusionist Jay Owenhouse’s misuse of the word “sanctuary” when referring to his tiger cages (June 22 Review-Journal).

True animal sanctuaries do not buy, sell, breed or trade animals. They do not stuff tigers into small transport cages and make then perform for profit. Big cats in true sanctuaries are provided a lifelong home and care and are taken off-site only for medical purposes. And they do not allow the public to come into direct contact with wild animals of any age.

Mr. Owenhouse did not rescue his tigers — he bought them — and he does not provide sanctuary for them. When in Las Vegas, Mr. Owenhouse’s tigers will live on a 30-by-30 cement slab with no grass or natural ground for them to walk on. Hardly a sanctuary.

Sanctuary is a buzz word too often used to whitewash animal exploitation and dupe the public. For Jay Owenhouse, calling his tiger cage a sanctuary is just one more illusion — and not a very good one at that.

Tigers are dangerous, explosive and unpredictable with instincts to kill. They are not props or performers but predators that don’t belong on stage.