U.S. urged to regulate 'backyard tigers' - CNN.com

U.S. urged to regulate 'backyard tigers' - CNN.com: "But in some states there are no regulations at all, making it easier to own a tiger than to adopt a dog, with sometimes tragic consequences.
In 2003, a 10-year-old boy was killed by his aunt's pet tiger in Wilkes County, North Carolina.
In the same year, celebrity tiger handler Roy Horn (of Siegfried and Roy fame) was mauled during a performance at Las Vegas's Mirage Hotel.
Nevada and North Carolina are two of eight U.S. states (Alabama, Idaho, Ohio, South Carolina West Virginia and Wisconsin are the others) which currently have no laws regulating private ownership of tigers.
These yawning gaps in regulation could be resolved by implementing 'a central reporting system and database run by the federal government and that would be required for all tigers in the U.S. without exception,' Henry says.
'We want to know where all these animals are, who owns them, when they're sold and transferred, when they are born, when they die, so we have a better grasp on what going on with this immense population of tigers to ensure they are not filtering into illegal trade,' Henry said.
It is hard to put an exact figure on just how lucrative the black market is, Henry says, but she estimates that a tiger broken up and sold in parts could fetch anywhere between $30,000 to $100,000"

nuisance animal problems