By Amanda Schiavo, Sep 28, 2013
(PHOTO CREDIT: Reuters) A Brazilian family is fighting to keep their 9 pet tigers.
The family is now in a heated battle with the Brazilian government over whether or not they can be allowed to keep their big cats. The big cats share a home with the Borges in an industrial neighborhood where many residents believe it is only a matter of time before someone is fatally injured by one of the family's pets. Federal wildlife officials in Brazil are fighting to take the cats away saying Ary Borges. The officials say Borges illegally bred the animals and by doing so created "a public danger."
Borges began collecting and breeding big cats in 2005 when he rescued two abused tigers from a travelling circus. Borges says he has the right to breed and care for these animals and believes there is no better home from them than with his family. "Sadly there are so many animals dying in zoos that have no oversight. My animals are treated extremely well ... we're preserving and conserving the species," Borges said to the Associated Press. "We have a great team of veterinarians. We give them only the best, but we're being persecuted."
The federal officials are looking to get an order forcing Borges to have his two male tigers neutered so they can no longer reproduce. The wildlife officials are also looking to revoke Borges' caretaker license, which would mean the removal of the animals from his home. Borges' two daughters also spoke to the Associated Press saying their family loves the animals and say they are no threat to people. The tigers would sleep with the girls until they became too big for their beds.
Experts believe that people that house big cats in their homes as pets are playing with fire. Patty finch the executive director of the Washington Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries told AP "It's a very dangerous situation, especially if there are young children around, they easily trigger a tiger's hunting instinct." The Borges family plans to keep fighting for their animals. "My father would die or kill himself if these tigers are taken away," Borges' daughter Uyara said to AP. "They're everything to us, they're my brothers. We've lived with them day and night for eight years."
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Photos: Living with tigers, Brazilian man fights to keep “pets”
Posted Sep 27, 2013
Ary Borges, who cares for eight tigers and two lionesses, at his
family’s home in Maringa, Brazil is in a legal battle with federal
wildlife officials to keep his endangered animals from undergoing
vasectomies and being taken away from him. While Borges does have a
license to raise the animals, Brazilian wildlife officials say he
illegally bred the cats, creating a public danger.
Wevellyn Antunes Rocha, from left to right, Maria
Deusaunira Borges, Uyara Borges, Nayara Borges (back), Daniella Klipe,
Gisele Candido, and Ary Borges gather at the breakfast table with tiger
Tom, in Maringa, Brazil, Friday, Sept. 27, 2013. Ary Borges, who cares
for Tom, eight other tigers and two lionesses, is in a legal battle with
federal wildlife officials to keep his endangered animals from
undergoing vasectomies and being taken away from him. (AP Photo/Renata
Brito)
The Borges' family pet dog, Little, sits on the
back of Tom, as they pose for a photo in their kitchen in Maringa,
Brazil, Friday, Sept. 27, 2013. The Brazilian family is now locked in a
legal dispute for the big cats, eight tigers and two lions, with federal
wildlife officials working to take them away. While Borges does have a
license to raise the animals, Brazilian wildlife officials say he
illegally bred the cats, creating a public danger.(AP Photo/Renata
Brito)
Dan, a two-year-old tiger, drinks from a nursing
bottle held by his caretaker Ary Borges, left, at Borges' home in
Maringa, Brazil, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013. Borges is in a legal battle
with federal wildlife officials to keep his endangered animals from
undergoing vasectomies and being taken away from him. He defends his
right to breed the animals and says he gives them a better home than
they might find elsewhere in Brazil. (AP Photo/Renata Brito)
Ary Borges stands with his tiger Tom on a leash in
his backyard in Maringa, Brazil, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013. The Borges
family is now locked in a legal dispute for the cats, with federal
wildlife officials working to take the animals away. While Borges does
have a license to raise the animals, Brazilian wildlife officials say he
illegally bred the tigers, creating a public danger. (AP Photo/Renata
Brito)
Ary Borges sits behind his tigers inside a cage at
his home's backyard in Maringa, Brazil, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013.
Borges says it all started in 2005 when he first rescued two abused
tigers from a traveling circus. He defends his right to breed the
animals and says he gives them a better home than they might find
elsewhere in Brazil. (AP Photo/Renata Brito)
A tiger leaps out of a pool inside a cage in the
backyard of its caretaker Ary Borges in Maringa, Brazil, Thursday, Sept.
26, 2013. Ibama, Brazil's environmental protection agency that also
oversees wildlife, is working through courts to force Borges to have the
male tigers undergo vasectomies so they cannot reproduce, confiscate
his caretaker license and obtain the cats. Borges appealed and the
matter is pending before a federal court. (AP Photo/Renata Brito)
A tiger handler holds out a piece of meat for a
tiger named Tom over a swimming pool in the backyard Tom's caretaker Ary
Borges in Maringa, Brazil, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013. To date, they've
had no problems with Borges' animals attacking anyone or getting loose.
(AP Photo/Renata Brito)
A tiger named Tom shakes off water as he swims in a
pool in the backyard of Ary Borges, his caretaker in Maringa, Brazil,
Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013. Borges, who cares for Tom, eight other tigers
and two lionesses, is in a legal battle with federal wildlife officials
to keep his endangered animals from undergoing vasectomies and being
taken away from him. (AP Photo/Renata Brito)
A tiger named Tom swims in the backyard of his
caretaker Ary Borges in Maringa, Brazil, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013. Tom
shares the Borges family property with other tigers, lions, a monkey,
and a pet Chihuahau named Little inside this makeshift animal sanctuary.
(AP Photo/Renata Brito)
The Borges' family pet dog, Little, is placed on
the back of Tom, their tiger, for a photo to be taken, in Maringa,
Brazil, Friday, Sept. 27, 2013. The Brazilian family is now locked in a
legal dispute for the big cats, they have eight tigers and two lions,
with federal wildlife officials working to take them away. While Borges
does have a license to raise the animals, Brazilian wildlife officials
say he illegally bred the cats, creating a public danger.(AP
Photo/Renata Brito)
Ary Borges sits with one of his nine tigers in his
backyard in Maringa, Brazil, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013. Borges says it
all started in 2005 when he first rescued two abused tigers from a
traveling circus. He defends his right to breed the animals and says he
gives them a better home than they might find elsewhere in Brazil. (AP
Photo/Renata Brito)
Ary Borges feeds his tiger named Dan at his home
in Maringa, Brazil, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013. Borges is in a legal
battle with federal wildlife officials to keep his endangered animals
from undergoing vasectomies and being taken away from him. He defends
his right to breed the animals and says he gives them a better home than
they might find elsewhere in Brazil. (AP Photo/Renata Brito)
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