Couple Questioned About Ventura County Tiger

State authorities investigating how a 425-pound tiger wound up roaming eastern Ventura County have questioned a Moorpark couple whose menagerie of exotic cats was confiscated from their rental home in the Tierra Rejada Valley earlier this month.

The couple had a state permit for three tigers, though authorities who originally inspected the cages found only two. Officials had been alerted to the presence of exotic cats by neighbors who reported that a bobcat had escaped from the property.

Fish and Game officials said Thursday that after reports of large paw prints in the area surfaced, they returned to interview Abby and Emma Hedengran about the possibility of a missing tiger. Authorities declined to provide details of the questioning, and the couple could not be reached for comment.

When first visiting the couple Feb. 9, the state officials had not yet learned about the prints discovered Feb. 8 at a nursery in the Santa Rosa Valley near Moorpark, according to Steve Martarano, a Fish and Game spokesman.

The tiger that left those tracks was shot dead by trackers Wednesday in a narrow ravine off California 23 in Moorpark.

It is not unusual for big-cat owners to have fewer animals than the number listed on their permits, because some may have died or be on loan for film shoots, Martarano said.

The Hedengrans had recently moved two dozen exotic cats from Temecula to the Tierra Rejada Valley rental home without informing Fish and Game as required by state law, Martarano said.

Officials learned about the move earlier this month after neighbors reported the bobcat’s escape.

At the time, the couple held a permit to keep 30 animals in Temecula, mostly of the smaller-cat variety, including lynx, a snow leopard and bobcats. The Feb. 9 inspection turned up only 22 exotic cats, including three African lions and the two tigers.

The Hedengrans, who had held the permit since 1998 under the name Wild World/Tiger Creek Foundation, had never had any major violations at the Temecula property, Martarano said.

On the Ventura County land, officials found some animals in makeshift cages on the front and back porches, and smaller cats running loose inside, all in apparent violation of state code. The Ventura County Department of Animal Regulation ordered the couple to remove the cats from the premises within 72 hours.

By Feb. 12, state and local officials had determined that all had been relocated to permitted sanctuaries in Nevada and California, Martarano said. Fish and Game officials learned three days later about the large feline paw prints found in Ventura County, he said.

Although the Hedengrans held an exhibitor’s permit, they had the cats just because “the owner said he liked working with endangered species,” Martarano said.

Many of the approximately 33 organizations and individuals in the Southern California region that hold permits to keep exotic cats, including lions, tigers and lynx, cater to the movie business. They seldom have trouble keeping their grounds and cages up to code, Martarano said.

“We have to keep our animals healthy and safe, not only for their sake but because we couldn’t stay in business,” said David McMillan, owner of Worldwide Movie Animals in Saugus, which provides exotic animals to Hollywood.

But Fish and Game has pursued at least 67 cases involving violations of its restricted-species code throughout Southern California since 1998, according to Mike McBride, an assistant chief of enforcement for the agency’s southern district, which covers most of the area from Santa Barbara County to Imperial County.

Riverside County tiger sanctuary operator John Weinhart was convicted this week of child endangerment and animal cruelty, two years after authorities seized dozens of cubs and adult tigers from his properties.

When county animal control officials raided Weinhart’s Glen Avon compound, they discovered 11 tiger and leopard cubs in an attic, scores of dead tiger cubs in freezers, two alligators in a bathtub and dozens of rotting tiger carcasses littering the property. Weinhart’s then-8-year-old son had access to the animals and a refrigerator full of animal tranquilizers.

Weinhart had been charging $7 for tours of his animal center and $20 more for guests to take photos holding tiger cubs.

Animal rehabilitator Chuck Traisi, who has been caring for Weinhart’s 50-plus big cats since 2003, said the property smelled of rancid meat and “fecal buildup” when he took over.

“This place is horrible -- and there are places worse than this,” he said Thursday. “The exotic animal industry in this country is a disgusting disgrace.”

Traisi, who left his San Diego wildlife center 21 months ago to care for Weinhart’s tigers full time, blamed the problem on animal breeders. “A true sanctuary ... wouldn’t have to exist if people didn’t keep breeding” exotic animals, he said. “Whether it’s in somebody’s backyard or a Las Vegas stage, it’s all the same.”

The Humane Society of the United States estimates that as many as 10,000 tigers are living in homes and “pseudo-sanctuaries” nationwide.

Most of Weinhart’s tigers have been transferred to sanctuaries in California and Colorado The last seven will be moved Saturday to Ark 2000, a sanctuary near San Andreas, east of Sacramento, run by the Performing Animal Welfare Society.

Permits from both Fish and Game and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are needed to own “restricted species” animals, which include most creatures other than typical household pets, according to McBride.

Applicants for permits are required to prove their knowledge of and experience with a wild animal before qualifying, and the state mandates species-specific requirements for cage size and general care, he said.

But because Fish and Game is overburdened by its conservation responsibilities, violators can easily fall through the cracks, McBride said.

“When you get into things like an exotic tiger in a cage, you’re asking the same agency that is out there trying to protect the wetlands [to handle] animal welfare situations,” McBride said.

In the aftermath of the tiger slaying in Ventura County, Fish and Game officials have come under intense scrutiny by animal rights advocates and the public over whether the animal could have been sedated and moved to a sanctuary instead of shot.

Assemblywoman Audra Strickland (R-Moorpark) said her office got more than 50 phone calls and e-mails from angry constituents. She scheduled a meeting this afternoon with Fish and Game officials.

“There are a lot of questions that need to be answered by the Department of Fish and Game surrounding why this tiger had to be killed and how much of our public safety was in jeopardy while it was roaming around Moorpark,” Strickland said. “We have a duty to the public so they can feel safe in their homes.”

Moorpark Councilman Keith Millhouse questioned whether state laws should be changed to restrict the ownership of wildlife and whether owners should be required to place identification tags on their animals.

“The owner needs to be prosecuted. And if they didn’t violate the law, there’s a serious loophole,” said Millhouse, who lives less than a mile from where the tiger was shot.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals also weighed in, offering up to $2,500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the tiger’s escape.

Times staff writer Gregory W. Griggs contributed to this report.