Escaped Tiger Shot and Killed

Officials seek owner of escaped tiger, defend shooting
Animal rights groups hope the incident will force legislators to tighten restrictions for ownership of exotic pets.
By The Associated Press

Officials, defending the fatal shooting of an escaped tiger that was roaming the hills near Simi Valley, continued Thursday to seek the big cat's owner as animal rights groups called for stricter exotic pet ownership laws.

Trackers with the U.S. Department of Agriculture shot the 425-pound black and orange cat Wednesday morning as it came within several hundred yards of a local park and highway. State Fish and Game trackers had been following its paw prints for more than a week as it roamed the brush near the Ronald Reagan Library, warning families in the nearby community to keep their children inside.

Fish and Game officials said Thursday they had been swamped with e-mails and phone calls from people outraged over the decision to kill the tiger instead of tranquilizing it. more...

This entire episode is grossly idiotic. How sad.