Tiger trainer at Carver County Fair pushes back after animal rights group decries show
CARVER COUNTY, Minn. -- An animal rights group says a Minnesota county fair exhibit is exploiting tigers.
The trainer who runs "Tiger Encounters," however, is calling her shows at educational.
Most people in small communities never get a chance to see a big cat up close, but that is not the case at the Carver County Fair.
Felicia Frisco has dedicated her life to bringing her tigers to the public, to educate people about their plight.
"There is less than 5,000 in the wild today. They believe there may be as little as 3,500," she explained. "They've lost almost 80% of their forests, they are not able to migrate and be able to breed."
There has been some pushback about Frisco presenting her tiger encounter at the Carver County Fair.
The Minnesota State Director of the Humane Society, Zach Eicten, issued a statement that said:
"Forcing tigers to perform circus tricks under the threat of punishment isn't educational, it's an embarrassment. The cruelty of using tigers as business commodities, rolling around with their trainer has nothing to do with conservation of preservation of the species."
But Frisco is pushing back.
"Everybody has a right to their opinion or how they feel about this and they say I'm not taking care of my animals, and I do four shows out of the year with them," she said. "The rest of the time I'm home, I work a normal job. But then they turn around and support facilities that are open 365 days a year and tehy charge people to come see their cats 365 days a year. Those people take an income, their CEOs take an income. They are making money off their animals."
Frisco says she hopes people come out and experience the show for themselves before making a decision about whether it's right or wrong to be at the Carver County Fair.
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"The show is based on kind of what they want to participate in," she explained. "Sometimes they come out and join me, sometimes they don't."
Frisco has three big cats with her at the Carver County Fair. So far, no protest over the tigers, just lots of eyes trying to get a glimpse of them.
