March 20, 2001

The Honorable Betty D. Montgomery
Attorney General of Ohio
State Office Tower
30 E. Broad St., 17th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-3428


Dear Ms. Montgomery:

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is an international nonprofit organization with more than 700,000 members dedicated to the protection of animals. I am writing to request that the attorney general’s office investigate possible fraud by the Siberian Tiger Foundation, operated by Diana Cziraky and located at 22143 Deal Rd. in Gambier, Ohio.

Cziraky operates a backyard animal menagerie that offers "close encounters" with tigers and lions, both adults and cubs. For $35, or $350 for a private session, members of the public are allowed to pet, hug, straddle, and pose with these animals. Cziraky falsely represents that direct physical contact with inherently dangerous and unpredictable animals is safe. This appears to violate Ohio’s Consumer Sales Practices Act, which prohibits deceptive, unfair, and unconscionable sales practices in consumer transactions.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), animals at this facility have injured more than 11 adults and children since March of last year. Among the incidents was an attack on a 10-year-old boy who was knocked to the ground and bitten on the leg on October 21, 2000. In July 2000, a 10-year-old girl had just bent down to pet a tiger’s paw when the tiger suddenly grabbed her with his paws, drove her to the ground, put his mouth around her head, and began shaking her. On October 29, 2000, a woman was bitten on the ankle on her first day of a $2,500 "animal handler training course" that Cziraky offers. Cziraky herself required seven stitches when she was bitten by one of her lions. Cziraky has asked people who have been bitten by her big cats to report the injury as a dog bite when seeking medical attention.

In June 1999, a similar facility called Bridgeport Nature Center, based in Texas, paid $2,500 to settle charges that it had violated North Dakota’s consumer fraud law by promoting the misrepresentation that it was safe for people to participate in photo sessions with big cats. The charges stemmed from a July 1998 incident in which a 4-month-old tiger cub clawed a 5-year-old boy at the North Dakota State Fair while the child was having his photo taken with the tiger. The boy suffered severe facial cuts and required both plastic surgery and rabies shots.

PETA has documented more than 150 dangerous incidents involving captive big cats since 1990. These incidents have resulted in 39 deaths, including those of eight children; 136 injuries, including 40 to children; and the killing of 56 big cats.

The USDA has charged the Siberian Tiger Foundation with violating the Animal Welfare Act by endangering animals, exhibiting animals without proper supervision, and violating a license suspension. It is possible that the Siberian Tiger Foundation’s USDA exhibitor license will be revoked as a result of these charges. Unfortunately, it appears that Cziraky will simply skirt the consequences of license revocation by obtaining another USDA exhibitor license under a different name. A newly created organization called Siberian Tiger Conservation Association, with Cziraky identified as an "employee," has applied for a new exhibitor license. Regardless of what this pitiful attraction is called, the fact remains that this is Cziraky’s backyard—she would remain as the operator, and the facility would continue to misrepresent the risk of injury by its animals.

Thank you for giving this matter your consideration. I look forward to your reply. I would be happy to answer questions or supply additional material.

Sincerely,

Debbie Leahy
Research Associate
Research, Investigations & Rescue Department