Louisiana Appeals Court Rules Against Tiger Truck Stop Owner

It looks like Michael Sandlin has lost his fight to keep Tony The Tiger at his Grosse Tete truckstop.

The state 1st Circuit Court of Appeal ruled Thursday Sandlin's  permit to keep the tiger at  his truck stop was invalid because he isn't the tiger's legal owner. The Animal Legal Defense Fund, of Cotati, Calif contended that the State of Louisiana had issued a permit that was "illegal, and inhumane."
A panel of three judges upheld most of a lower court ruling. Tony is a 12-year-old Bengal-Siberian tiger mix. He's been displayed as an attraction at Sandlin's Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete. The panel's decision upheld an order preventing the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries from granting sandlin a new permit to keep the animal at the truck stop.
Tiger Truck stop's attorney Jennifer Treadway Morris said,  "We think there's plenty of reasons we can seek a rehearing."
Tigers have been on display at the truck stop since 1988.  Animal rights groups have been filing complaints about Tony and his 40-by-80-foot cage for at least five years.
Tony will remain at the truck stop Until all appeals are completed.