Tiger's Whereabouts Unknown, Owner Arrested After Animal Runs Free in Texas Neighborhood
Tigers are not allowed within Houston city limits as a pet
By Associated Press and NBC 5 Staff ••
A man whose tiger was found wandering around a Houston neighborhood Sunday night has been arrested, police say. The tiger's whereabouts are still unknown.
A neighbor says families spotted the tiger lounging in the front yard of a home while out on an evening walk.
Video of the encounter shows the tiger walking toward a Waller County sheriff's deputy who lives in the neighborhood.
When the deputy pulled out his service weapon, another man from a nearby home reportedly came out shouting, "Don't shoot!"
The deputy tells the tiger's caretaker, "Get your tiger back inside." No shots were fired.
The big cat was later corralled back inside the home, then the caretaker rushed the tiger away in a white Jeep as police arrived, the Houston Chronicle reported.
The Texas state director of the Humane Society of the United States says it is working to secure passage of the Big Cat Public Safety Act in Congress. It would ban the possession of big cat species like tigers and lions as pets and prohibit using them at facilities that allow public contact with big cats.