Farm home offered to doomed tiger (From Western Telegraph)

Farm home offered to doomed tiger

Torrik the Siberian tiger, who is threatened with being put down because he is not rare enough, may find a new home on a Carmarthenshire farm. Carmarthenshire County Council animal health officers are recommending approval of an application by a local man, whose identity is being kept secret, to keep the one-year-old tiger, which has been living at Longleat Wildlife Park.

The application will be heard on Thursday at a meeting of the director and cabinet member for social care and housing.

Torrik is too common and his bloodline too well-stocked for him to be used for stud purposes, so, unless he finds a new home by the end of March he could be destroyed.

Animal health officials have canvassed police, veterinarians, the local councillor and community council and no objections have been received. The prospective owner has given assurances that Torrik will be well supervised and kept under close guard behind many layers of strong electrified fencing with CCTV, infra-red lighting and an alarm system.

His keeper, who has had years of experience keeping big cats, has also agreed to apply for a shotgun licence as an extra precaution.

Social care cabinet member, Councillor Clive Scourfield, said: Obviously this is an application we will have to consider very carefully, but it would be nice to think we are able to help save such a beautifuil animal from destruction.