Doesn’t matter how cute, tigers are not pets

Last week, a young female tiger was found roaming around Conroe. The animal, one that will grow to be about 400 pounds and sprint about as fast as a car, got loose during flooding.

Texans are allowed to own dangerous wild animals, as long as they register the animals and have liability insurance.

The law doesn’t prohibit municipalities or counties from enforcing their own rules on dangerous pets.

Most cities in Dallas-Fort Worth prohibit owning an exotic pet, but it happens — and unfortunately, often the only time a city finds out is if the animal gets loose, dies or maims someone.

In 2007, a sanitation crew found a dead tiger near Dallas after an anonymous phone call. It appeared to have been a pet.

In 2000, a tiger ripped off a 3-year-old boy’s arm near Houston.

“Since 1990, more than 300 dangerous incidents involving big cats have occurred in 44 states,” the Humane Society of the United States says on its website.

Tigers are beautiful creatures but horrible pets.

This story was originally published April 27, 2016 at 6:04 PM with the headline "Doesn’t matter how cute, tigers are not pets."