Woman Denied Entry at MK For Trying To Bring In Baby Bengal Tiger

[Nubs70]

One of the Pink Panther movies. 'Strikes Again' perhaps?

We have a winner! !!!

 

[GymLeaderPhil]

I can vouch for the story's authenticity.

 

[WDW1974]

Heard from a Guest Relations CM friend, this is totally real. The same person brought it into EC and MK the 2 days prior and there was a note on their booking about it.

I would've loved to see this one handled though. Kudos to the front line CM who had to deal with this craziness.

I would advise your friend to contact the state department that handles exotic animals, because you can bet Disney won't. Said friend doesn't have to give their name, because Disney would likely look to fire him or her, but I strongly suspect illegal activity here.

There is no excuse for that situation. Crazy and typical that no one at Disney thought 'hmm, maybe we should contact law enforcement.'

 

[WDW1974]

I can vouch for the story's authenticity.

Pathetic.

And Disney and countless CMs (and even other Guests) just ignored it. What a company. What a country.

 

[GrumpyFan]

Pathetic.

And Disney and countless CMs (and even other Guests) just ignored it. What a company. What a country.

Maybe, but I'm sure many weren't real sure what to do, or who to call.
I mean, how many have seen something like that outside of a zoo?

 

[Brian Swan]

To quote a famous movie:

Does you dog bite?

No.

**Dog bites**

I thought you said your dog does not bite?

That is not my dog.


*Name that movie and you get an 8 ball of pixie dust.

One of the "Pink Panther" movies, but they all kind of blur together.. I'm thinking "Return of..."

 

[EOD K9]

RE: the "Why didn't the folks at AK take possession"? question is the same for why my agency doesn't handle strays. We have 30 kennels at our training site and 10 in our patrol areas. We arrest people with service animals or people will expect us to wrangle loose dogs. We don't handle them as we don't want to contaminate our facilities. While we do have quarantine areas, it is not in our best interest to take them in and deal with whatever the animal may have, i.e. fleas, ticks, mange, worms, kennel cough, herpies, etc.

 

[alphac2005]

This can easy be summed up by the following: People are nuts.

 

[Ralphlaw]

My 2 cents:

1. It wasn't a danger to anyone at a week old, but you can't expect greeters to draw the line as to when an animal is dangerous or not dangerous based upon age. What about a 2 week old tiger? Or 2 month old?

2. Most law enforcement departments have a designated place to take such animals, and a fee arrangement and/or subsidies are given to that place to provide respite in these situations.

3. Guide animals and comfort animals are bred and trained to stay calm. Most tiger species probably cannot be trained as such, especially in a crowd. Also, the American's with Disabilities Act requires that Disney accommodate people who medically need animal assistance. Otherwise, I assume many public businesses would prefer not to have any animals around. (Just to be clear, I think it's absolutely great that those who need animal assistance can bring in their furry helpers.) But I do know that some in the business would prefer to not have the hassle.

4. The woman, if she was arrested, might have thrown such a fit that she was arrested for disorderly conduct, or perhaps attempting to enter a public place with an unregistered animal. Any decent police officer could probably find half a dozen law violations once everything was said and done.

5. As to being allowed in with it at Epcot and on a prior day at Magic Kingdom is concerned, we don't know if they saw it at entry, or if some poor sales clerk saw it in a shop. Does Disney train CMs about what to do when an exotic looking kitty cat with stripes is seen in a guest's purse? I don't know. I once knew a lawyer who raised Norwegian Elkhounds on the side, and brought one in to court with him. The Judge was amused.

 

[EOD K9]

My 2 cents:

3. Guide animals and comfort animals are bred and trained to stay calm. Most tiger species probably cannot be trained as such, especially in a crowd. Also, the American's with Disabilities Act requires that Disney accommodate people who medically need animal assistance. Otherwise, I assume many public businesses would prefer not to have any animals around. (Just to be clear, I think it's absolutely great that those who need animal assistance can bring in their furry helpers.) But I do know that some in the business would prefer to not have the hassle. .

A service animal has to be trained for some type of task. It can be carrying a person's things, seeing eye, anti-seizure etc. The "It makes me feel better just by being there" is not a valid argument.

 

[PhotoDave219]

My 2 cents:

1. It wasn't a danger to anyone at a week old, but you can't expect greeters to draw the line as to when an animal is dangerous or not dangerous based upon age. What about a 2 week old tiger? Or 2 month old?

2. Most law enforcement departments have a designated place to take such animals, and a fee arrangement and/or subsidies are given to that place to provide respite in these situations.

3. Guide animals and comfort animals are bred and trained to stay calm. Most tiger species probably cannot be trained as such, especially in a crowd. Also, the American's with Disabilities Act requires that Disney accommodate people who medically need animal assistance. Otherwise, I assume many public businesses would prefer not to have any animals around. (Just to be clear, I think it's absolutely great that those who need animal assistance can bring in their furry helpers.) But I do know that some in the business would prefer to not have the hassle.

4. The woman, if she was arrested, might have thrown such a fit that she was arrested for disorderly conduct, or perhaps attempting to enter a public place with an unregistered animal. Any decent police officer could probably find half a dozen law violations once everything was said and done.

5. As to being allowed in with it at Epcot and on a prior day at Magic Kingdom is concerned, we don't know if they saw it at entry, or if some poor sales clerk saw it in a shop. Does Disney train CMs about what to do when an exotic looking kitty cat with stripes is seen in a guest's purse? I don't know. I once knew a lawyer who raised Norwegian Elkhounds on the side, and brought one in to court with him. The Judge was amused.

1 - Its a tiger. Cub or Not, cute or not, it does not belong in the guest area of a theme park nor allowed in with the guests.

2 - Thank god that happened.

3 - Clearly, a Tiger is not a service animal.

4 - More than likely. Going to assume there was some serious negotiating involved.

5 - When the lawyer gets upset, he doesnt eat the tourists.

This can easy be summed up by the following: People are nuts.

Yuuuuuuuup.

I can vouch for the story's authenticity.

Heard from a Guest Relations CM friend, this is totally real. The same person brought it into EC and MK the 2 days prior and there was a note on their booking about it.

I would've loved to see this one handled though. Kudos to the front line CM who had to deal with this craziness.

Props to Guest Relations. I really would love to hear the behind the scenes stories here. This is so unbelievably crazy.

 

[fosse76]

My 2 cents:

1. It wasn't a danger to anyone at a week old, but you can't expect greeters to draw the line as to when an animal is dangerous or not dangerous based upon age. What about a 2 week old tiger? Or 2 month old?

Tigers at any age can never truly be domesticated. They are wild animals whose behavior can go from benign to vicious in a heartbeat.

2. Most law enforcement departments have a designated place to take such animals, and a fee arrangement and/or subsidies are given to that place to provide respite in these situations.

No doubt this is true. But it appears law enforcement wasn't involved. I imagine Disney knows very well where exotic animals are kept under those circumstances and made the arrangements themselves. I wouldn't be shocked to learn that the Zoo isn't completely aware of whose tiger it is.

3. Guide animals and comfort animals are bred and trained to stay calm. Most tiger species probably cannot be trained as such, especially in a crowd. Also, the American's with Disabilities Act requires that Disney accommodate people who medically need animal assistance. Otherwise, I assume many public businesses would prefer not to have any animals around. (Just to be clear, I think it's absolutely great that those who need animal assistance can bring in their furry helpers.) But I do know that some in the business would prefer to not have the hassle.

True. However, businesses can exclude animals that may pose a danger to other customers. Businesses can even exclude growling or barking dogs, even if they pose no other threat or have not shown any other type of aggression.A tiger is most certainly a dangerous animal and Disney or any other business would be legally able to deny entry.

4. The woman, if she was arrested, might have thrown such a fit that she was arrested for disorderly conduct, or perhaps attempting to enter a public place with an unregistered animal. Any decent police officer could probably find half a dozen law violations once everything was said and done.

I am not sure what your point is. There are laws regarding the ownership of exotic animals, and she is most likely breaking them. Disney absolutely should have called the police to let them deal with it. If it got loose for whatever reason and attacked another guest, Disney would also be liable for damages.

5. As to being allowed in with it at Epcot and on a prior day at Magic Kingdom is concerned, we don't know if they saw it at entry, or if some poor sales clerk saw it in a shop. Does Disney train CMs about what to do when an exotic looking kitty cat with stripes is seen in a guest's purse? I don't know. I once knew a lawyer who raised Norwegian Elkhounds on the side, and brought one in to court with him. The Judge was amused.

Someone mentioned that there was some type of record created that is associated with this particular guest, so they clearly saw it somewhere. The fact that Disney didn't do anything isn't all that surprising, but it is disturbing.

 

[Goofyernmost]

IF... I repeat IF, this story is true and believe me nothing surprises me any more, I have to ask, is the world getting crazier or are we just hearing about it more because of social media? It almost makes be happy to think that I am old enough that I won't have to witness much of it for a lot longer. It is beyond just the silliness that worries me.

 

[PhotoDave219]

IF... I repeat IF, this story is true and believe me nothing surprises me any more, I have to ask, is the world getting crazier or are we just hearing about it more because of social media? It almost makes be happy to think that I am old enough that I won't have to witness much of it for a lot longer. It is beyond just the silliness that worries me.

I just talked with a friend: "Dear God that got around fast."

So its either a new urban legend or its legit. And based on who all has heard this story and their disconnects, I'm learning towards legit.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

This is so unbelievably crazy.

Doesn't really surprise me. This is the kind of thing was thinking of when I made a post about service animals a couple months ago.

People find out that Disney allows animals and they think they can bring whatever in for whatever reason (like the "it makes me feel good" excuse), especially when those vests are so easily bought online.

Like the newer policies on selfie sticks, I only hope Disney will continue to enfore their written rules.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Doesn't really surprise me. This is the kind of thing was thinking of when I made a post about service animals a couple months ago.

People find out that Disney allows animals and they think they can bring whatever in for whatever reason (like the "it makes me feel good" excuse), especially when those vests are so easily bought online.

Like the newer policies on selfie sticks, I only hope Disney will continue to enfore their written rules.

Written or not, Disney is well within their rights to say "No, you cannot bring a TIGER into our parks."

 

[Animaniac93-98]

The "It makes me feel better just by being there" is not a valid argument.

Not to mention how selfish it sounds.

I'm sure those with pet allergies feel much better knowing your pooch is there.

 

[fillerup]

Am I the only one wondering why this story doesn't appear in any Orlando area media?

If you go to the four TV stations and the Sentinel and do a search on the word tiger, all you get are stories wondering if Tiger Woods can win the Masters.

Maybe that explains why the woman who answered the phone when I called the Central Florida Zoo had no idea what I was talking about.

I left a message for the Zoo's VP that was mentioned in the story but he hasn't called back. Probably thinks I'm crazy.

 

[PhilharMagician]

But we don't know that she did either of these things. Not trying to defend her, just pointing out that we don't know if she actually did something illegal. Stupid, maybe, illegal , we don't know.

Stupid is a given, illegal is also given. Cub or not this animals holder needs to have a permit to have such an animal. This woman should have been arrested and the animal taken away. I will make a wild assumption that since she is from Dubai and carrying a tiger cub that she is quite wealthy and spending huge $$$$ @ Disney and was given a special consideration by all and was able to walk. She should be in all kinds of trouble.

You are right. We don't know for sure that she did such things, but it is a fairly safe assumption given the circumstances.

One would think that importing a wild exotic cat into the US would be a little more complicated that say, filling out the blue form at customs making it highly unlikely that she went through the proper channels to legally bring her pet to the US.

It is still possible that she did, but my money is not on that square.

She must have flown in a private jet, because it would seem to be a bit tough to load a kitty like that into the commercial airline. At least I would think so. I just cannot imagine she came here without the tiger and just went to the local Petsmart and pick one up as a souvenir?

 

[Jane Doe]

This can easy be summed up by the following: People are nuts.

Indeed. It's a tiger in a theme park.

Some rich gobe with the latest fun accessory who will let some other rich gobe shoot it for fun when she gets bored with it.

Makes me glad I'm skint.