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The Perfect Pet Tiger

© Joy Butler

Mr. Frazer claims, "The key is that to trust them you must extend that trust to them; and to get them to trust you, they must know that you trust them and what to expect of you; you must always be consistent in your behavior."

Do tigers make good pets? Qadesh certainly did, but perhaps the question should be, do people make good tiger owners? Because most people fail to appreciate what is involved in keeping a tiger, Bill Frazer does not advocate tigers as pets. By 6 or 7 months of age they will weigh around 200 lbs yet act as mischievously as a house kitten. Most people do not have the will or the way to feed, train and keep an animal like this beside them 24 hours a day. It ends up being put to sleep or caged and frustrated, producing a dangerous situation. In the past 5 years, nine people in the US have been killed by tigers. Although the health and happiness of Qadesh is documented in testimonials from veterinarians, SPCA officials and others, Bill insists that an intimate knowledge of the animal and a 100% devotion to the pet is required to avoid tragedy for the tiger or the owners, or both.

Bill's personal agenda remains to educate the public about endangered species and to promote control of indiscriminate tiger breeding. Due primarily to hunting and loss of habitat, the Bali Tiger has been extinct since the 1940's, the Caspian Tiger since the early 70's, and the Javan Tiger since the early 80's. Sadly, with only 200 to 400 Siberian tigers like Qadesh still roaming the wild, they too may soon vanish from the earth.

Captive-raised tigers do not learn survival and can never be released into the wild, yet, they are bred indiscriminately. It is believed that as many as 80% of these cubs never reach their first birthday. Most are sold as pets who end up caged and neglected and sometimes attack in frustration, some are simply abandoned or put to sleep, some are used in roadside zoos for photograph sessions, as long they are small, and then put to sleep when they mature and become unmanageable, while others "are raised to adulthood only to be shot at point-blank range to bolster the inadequate egos of so-called 'sportsmen' at so-called 'Safari Ranches'." And know that every time you see a tiger perform in a circus, there were 30 others who did not cooperate and were killed or discarded.