citation_inspection: 14268

On Tuesday August 19th, 2014 two inspectors from USDA/AC attended the 6pm 'Tiger Playtime' at the facility. During this encounter up to 30 members of the public are allowed to sit in an area surrounded by fence panels under a tent where two tiger cubs (said to be 14 weeks of age and approximately 25-30lbs) were let into the room to interact freely with the adults and children present. During the show, the licensee was in the area for the first part of the event with one assistant. When the Licensee left, another assistant entered the area. Before the release of the white tiger into the room, the licensee aggravated the tiger by grabbing her by the scruff and bouncing her up and down on his lap and ground while the tiger hissed, growled, and bit at his glove covered hands. The tiger's ears were pinned to the side of its head during that part of the encounter and was not acting in a relaxed manner. As described by the Licensee, the tiger was "pissed off". While the tiger was agitated, the licensee dropped the tiger in the lap of the unsuspecting member of the public sitting next to him. The tiger jumped off this man's lap with its ears still pinned to its head. The tiger then walked away and flopped onto the floor. At this time the tiger's ears returned to a normal un-agitated position and another tiger was released into the room. The tigers walked, played, and jumped around on many members of the public. People were lying down next to them, petting them and taking photos with them during the length of the event. There were three incidents where members of the public were scratched or bitten during the play time. One older female was pawed and mouthed in the face by the white tiger. A young boy (estimated to be approximately 10yrs old) was bitten on the top of his thigh. The child did yell out, pushed the tiger off of his leg, and crawled away rubbing his thigh. One of the assistants asked him if his leg was still 'attached' and teased him about his leg being chewed like a drumstick. The boy continued to pet and play with the tiger. Another bite was to the back of one of the inspectors, which resulted in broken skin and bleeding. Another young boy was approached from behind by the tiger where it grabbed both sides of his head at the ears and mouthed the top of his head. In another encounter a tiger was lying across the back of a female lying on the floor while chewing and pulling on the hair of another woman sitting next to them. There were several instances where members of the public would rile up the tigers by rough housing with them, or shaking their heads by gripping their faces, and when the tigers would respond in play by swatting with their claws or biting their hands, multiple people responded by 'swatting' the tigers in the face, nose and eye area, or prying their mouth off of their hands or arms with their free hand. There were several instances where the tigers would leap on top of people lying down, or jump up onto the hips and lower backs of a standing person. Due to the weight and size of the tigers, the teeth and claws could cause damage and several members of the public did say "Owe or ouch" during the play time as the tigers swatted, jumped and mouthed the people. While the tigers are young and at play with members of the public, the current procedure of letting the tigers walk freely among so many people with no direct control by the keepers in the area provides an immediate opportunity for injury to the public by the tigers' sharp claws and teeth. There is also a risk to the tigers due to members of the public providing a 'discipline' response by swatting, pushing or prying off of their mouths. This action by untrained members of the public teaches and encourages the tigers to become more aggressive in their play and may result in the tigers becoming more unruly and unresponsive to discipline. Interactions between the tigers and public could be managed in a controlled manner under the guidance of a trained keeper, but was not observed by inspectors during the Tiger playtime they attended. Free roaming contact and unregulated discipline given by the public provides opportunity for an injury to an animal or the public before control of the situation could be gained by a trained keeper. After the "Tiger Playtime" at 7pm there was a show with multiple animals where the public was given the opportunity to see and handle other species. The licensee had many of the animals leashed and talked about them while the public observed. On one occasion a capuchin monkey was tossed onto the lap of a man next to the inspector. The monkey was on a long leash and was swung from the belt that was around its hips and tossed approximately 6 ft onto the man's lap. Another monkey was twirled around the licensee by it's belt and leash. The lemur was allowed to jump onto people causing surprise reactions by the public. A young coati was allowed to roam free across people's laps, and a young kangaroo was allowed to roam free in the event area. The public was allowed to hand feed many of the animals. Animals may be injured or harmed when interaction with the public is free and uncontrolled. There needs to be more control of the environment and animals when they come in contact with the public. All animals must be handled so there is minimal risk of harm to the animal and to the public during exhibition, with sufficient distance and/or barriers between the animal and the general public so as to assure the safety of animals and the public.