Teachers at a day-care centre in Boksburg were shocked last week, during outside playtime, when they saw a white tiger watching them.
The tiger is the neighbour’s pet and was seated on a jungle gym overlooking the crèche. Playtime on the crèche grounds has been stopped.
The crèche owner has since learnt that their neighbour has acquired two white tigers.
Since then the crèche owner has had to keep the children indoors out of fear the tigers could jump over the fence.
Several children have stopped coming to school. The crèche owner has approached the owner of the tigers, wildlife organisations and the local councillor, with no results because there is seemingly no legislation around keeping tigers.
On social media, neighbours and residents have clashed with the owners of the cats.
Some of the owner’s social media videos show the tigers drinking water from a plastic pool, and being taken on leashed walks. The tigers are also captured diving into a swimming pool and lying on a bed next to the owner.
Animal welfare organisation Four Paws said ‘The images are appalling, but we are not shocked by them’.
Tigers have very little protection under SA law, despite being an endangered species. In Gauteng, cases of private keeping are prevalent.
There are about 1,500 tigers kept in captivity in South Africa, yet fewer than 4,000 left in the wild.
Tigers are kept in suburban homes for reasons such as social media exposure. Despite being hand-reared and appearing playful, the cats are wild animals and natural predators.
The National Council of SPCAs said it had issued a warning in terms of the Animals Protection Act, but there was no guarantee this would have an impact. The responsibility for acting lies with Gauteng Nature Conservation, which requires an import permit when tigers originate from outside Gauteng.
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