This morning, a judge in East Baton Rouge District Court granted the
Animal Legal Defense Fund’s (ALDF) request for a permanent injunction
against the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, preventing
the Department from renewing the annual permit that allows Michael
Sandlin, owner of Grosse Tete’s Tiger Truck Stop, to display Tony, a ten-year-old Siberian-Bengal tiger.
When the current permit expires in December 2011, Sandlin will no
longer be able to keep Tony confined as a roadside exhibit at the truck
stop where he has languished for over a decade. The court also assessed
costs against the Department in the case.

In preparation for the day the current permit expires and Tony is
finally free, ALDF hopes to work with the Department to find the best
possible new home for him, providing recommendations for reputable
sanctuaries where Tony can live out his life in a peaceful, natural
environment, free from the 24-hour exposure to noise and diesel fumes
that have plagued his life to date.

ALDF’s lawsuit to free Tony has drawn the support of high profile advocates like Leonardo DiCaprio and True Blood’s Kristin Bauer
and has galvanized activists around the world. This week, ALDF
delivered to the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries over 31,000 signed
petitions urging it to revoke Sandlin’s permit to keep Tony. Tony has
been on exhibit at the Tiger Truck Stop since 2001; he has lived there
with no other tiger companions since 2003. Joining ALDF as a
co-plaintiff in the case is former Louisiana Representative Warren
Triche, who authored the state’s law that led to the ban on the private
ownership of big cats, including tigers. Two other Louisiana residents,
also deeply concerned by Tony’s long-time suffering, are additional
co-plaintiffs. The law offices of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell,
& Berkowitz, P.C. are providing pro bono assistance with the
lawsuit.