Sheriff: Wildlife ranch has untroubled past
Tigers from ranch were seized Sunday in Wal-Mart parking lot in McAllen
CALVERT -- Robertson County Sheriff Gerald Yezak has seen lions, tigers and panthers at the Spring Hill Wildlife Ranch outside Calvert, but he never saw anything illegal there.
The animals were inside their cages and appeared to be cared for, he said Tuesday, two days after a ranch employee was arrested in McAllen in connection with the suspected sale of six endangered tiger cubs in a Wal-Mart parking lot.
Ranch employee Michelle Aston, 49, was arrested Sunday after McAllen police said she became disruptive when officers interrupted the sale of the tiger cubs. Federal agents said the animals appeared to be bound for Mexico.
The animals were confiscated and are being held at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville. Aston, meanwhile, was arraigned Monday on a charge of misdemeanor interference with public duties. She has since been released from the Hidalgo County Detention Center in lieu of $5,000 bail.
Little is known about the Spring Hill Wildlife Ranch, but Yezak said it's owned by Bryan resident John Wallace. The sheriff's office inspects the facility once a year to ensure the wild animals there don't pose a danger to the public.
Wallace owns two 30-acre parcels on Spring Hill Road, according to the Robertson County Appraisal District.
In 1997, the ranch loaned a tiger to Santa's Sleigh Christmas Store in Calvert to use in a seasonal display, according to a report in The Bryan-College Station Eagle.
From the dirt road outside the ranch, large fields enclosed by fences could be seen Tuesday housing a camel and two donkeys. The entrance to the ranch is gated, with warnings to visitors to watch for animals and children. Much of the ranch is surrounded by thick vegetation.
On Tuesday, a white tiger could be seen pacing in its cage through a clearing in the vegetation outside the ranch. A ranch employee declined to be interviewed, and Wallace did not return calls seeking comment.
County authorities said the ranch has the proper permits to sell and house dangerous wild animals. Other permits are needed, however, for endangered animals to be transferred across state lines or international borders.
According to a 1997 article in The Eagle, Wallace has sold tigers to a magician and to Southern Texas University to use as its mascot.
It's unclear what the animals discovered in McAllen were being sold for, but authorities said they became suspicious when they saw a group from the Spring Hill Wildlife Ranch meeting with a another party who was in a vehicle with Mexican license plates.
"That number of tigers being sold says circus to me," said Greeley Stones, the Gladys Porter Zoo's facilities director. "You let people take pictures with them and then they become a cat act when they are older."
Stones said the animals were in good condition Tuesday.
"These cats are wonderful," he said. "They are healthy, fat and have good eyes. They are really nice little cats."
He said the tigers are property of the zoo and the U.S. government, but the future of the animals is unclear.
"If (Spring Hill Wildlife Ranch staff) come up with proper documentation and paperwork and can legally prove to the judge that they were not being sold illegally, then there is a possibility they could get those animals back," he said.
The federal government does not regulate the ownership and care of large animals and exotic cats as pets, but many states, counties and cities have ordinances outlawing possession of the animals as pets, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
It is illegal to have dangerous exotic pets in Brazos County, and experts warn that keeping such animals as pets is a bad idea.
"I think that most people get lured in when they are small, because they are very cute and a lot of fun," said Hollie Colahan, curator of primates and carnivores at the Houston Zoo.
"An adult tiger weighs a few hundred pounds and is quite strong. People think that just because they are raised around people they are safe, but their natural tiger instincts come in. Even if they are not trying to be aggressive, they can hurt people."
That was the case in 1997, when a 13-year-old was hospitalized after being mauled by a tiger in Caldwell.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
