Big cat show nixed at Tulsa fair amid complaints

Published: September 24, 2008

TULSA - Officials with the Tulsa State Fair nixed plans for a big cat show after protests from an animal rights group.

Fair officials canceled the agreement with Great Cat Adventures, a company that displays leopards, tigers and other large cats, in part because of a flurry of complaints against the company, said Mark Andrus, interim president and CEO of Expo Square.

Before the $11,000 contract was canceled, the animal-rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals spearheaded an e-mail campaign protesting the display, a PETA news release states.

"In addition to public safety risks, such animal displays are nothing but misery for the animals who are subjected to grueling travel, intense confinement, extreme noise, and the stress of constant interaction with people," the release states.

Since the exhibit was called off, workers from Great Cat Adventures have tried to settle the dispute with fair officials and get back into the event, company spokesman Wayne Edwards said.

The fair starts Thursday, and the animals are being housed offsite until an agreement is reached, he said.

But seeing the cats at this year's Tulsa State Fair remains unlikely because the exhibit space has been reassigned, and other spots are full, Andrus said.

The Amarillo, Texas-based company has crisscrossed the nation for about 20 years with cats of several species, Edwards said.

Most customers are drawn by the chance to bottle-feed and take photos with a tiger cub, he said.

Edwards said the company takes safety precautions and that PETA's claims are unfounded.

"It's very safe; it's very controlled; and the cubs we have (with which the public interacts) are 3 months old at the oldest. They're not real large cats," he said.

The company is building a wildlife refuge near Atoka, Edwards said.

At the heart of PETA's claims are citations from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Several citations were issued for handling a tiger in a dangerous manner, PETA alleges.

Great Cat Adventures' Oklahoma license was revoked in 2007 but was reinstated after some legal wrangling, and extra safety features were added, Edwards said.

"Our noncompliance issue is not what it appears to be," he said. "They take that one little piece of truth and blow it up to where it's something much bigger than it is. We've not had one issue all year long."

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