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BATON ROUGE, La. – This morning, the national non-profit Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) filed a petition with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, requesting that they revoke, and deny renewal of, the permit allowing Michael Sandlin to exhibit a male Siberian tiger named Tony at the Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, La. Tony has been on exhibit at the truck stop since 2000; he has lived there with no other tiger companions since 2003, when the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) seized three other tigers from Sandlin due to violations of the Animal Welfare Act.

Last year, Americans spent roughly $18 billion dollars on coffee—and virtually nothing to protect animals from some of the worst abuses imaginable. Is this who we are? Check out our brand new video to see why, at the Animal Legal Defense Fund, we believe that we are better than that—and we’re fighting every day to win the case against cruelty for our country’s animals. The fantastic song providing the soundtrack is “How We Operate,” courtesy of Gomez and ATO Records. Watch the video here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUgh_YFYeMc

Sign ALDF’s Animal Bill of Rights to let your Congresspersons know that you believe America’s animals deserve better. Sign on your support and speak out to your lawmakers today!

Help us put an end to dogfighting and create strong laws for animals so criminals like Michael Vick receive meaningful sentences!

Contact your state legislators today!

Although animal fighting is illegal in all 50 states, the Animal Legal Defense Fund is working to make such crimes easier to prosecute and punishable by stronger penalties. ALDF has drafted a recommended amendment to state laws that would enable prosecutors to charge dogfighters under the respective state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (commonly referred to as "RICO") statute. Applied to animal fighting, RICO – which was originally designed to be a weapon against a wide variety of organized criminal efforts, including drug dealing and gambling – would give prosecutors increased muscle in seeking justice for the animals abused, and, as in the Vick case, even executed by their owners.

Take action by writing to your state legislators today about enacting or enhancing your state’s RICO law. ALDF can provide our model law that was enacted in Virginia, and can also provide your legislators with a detailed legislative analysis of your state’s laws to provide customized solutions for your state.

Send a letter to your state representatives now!