LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – FOX5 is learning more about the next steps for several tigers seized from a Pahrump property Wednesday.
Nye County deputies arrived at Karl Mitchell’s property to remove the tigers alongside a crew from Turpentine Creek Wildlife Rescue in Arkansas.
FOX5 spoke with Tanya Smith, the President and founder of TCWR, Thursday to ask about the tigers’ journey to their new home and the conditions they were found in. Smith tells us she pulled over in New Mexico for the interview.
Andryanna Sheppard: How did your sanctuary get tapped for this situation?
Tanya Smith: Our sanctuary was contacted because we’re one of the best sanctuaries in the country… to do this type of job. So we were asked to step in by the Nye County Sheriff’s Department to bring the animals… We didn’t know how many we were coming for… and bring them back to our sanctuary in Arkansas.
We knew a little history on the perpetrator and we wanted to make sure the animals didn’t have to live in terrible conditions any longer.
Sheppard: When did Nye County reach out?
Smith: Oh it it wasn’t that long ago. Maybe a couple of weeks ago. Turpentine Creek is unique in that we can haul up to 13 animals at one time and have our own rescue staff. Our team of experts can go in and get the animals out safely and travel across the country with big cats, like tigers. So that’s why we were contacted. We’ve been doing this for 33 years, since 1992 and we’ve rescued over 500 animals like this in all that time.
Sheppard: When did you guys arrive in the Las Vegas/Pahrump area?
Smith: On Tuesday, stayed all day and rested on Tuesday and got whatever we needed to get to be able to make the trip home.
Sheppard: How long is that journey?
Smith: Oh, it’s about 1400 miles.
Sheppard: How many days does that take you without animals? And then now with animals?
Smith: We drove two days to get here and then we’re driving back, but it’s taking a little longer just because we experienced some snow over the mountain passes. So we actually got a good night’s sleep last night, the cats got tucked in and fed and water just fine. Everybody’s doing great on this trip.
Sheppard: So you have 7 tigers with you right now, right? How do you travel with that many? Are they sedated right now?
Smith: Oh no, they’re awake. Tigers travel pretty well, you know. They’re in a box and trailers. The females are in one trailer and the males are in the second because one of the females was in heat.
It’s working really well so far.
Sheppard: Do you know the age of the tigers?
Smith: Not really. You know the information that we’re getting from the culprit is not anything we can believe. So we’re not really sure we’re going to get home and try to have our vet look at all the animals. They look like they’re between 3 and 7 or 8 years old from what we can tell by looking at their teeth.
We tranquilized all the animals yesterday to make sure that we could get blood work from them. We already have a jump start on that when we get back to Arkansas.
Sheppard: Do we know anything about their health yet?
Smith: No, not a lot. All the animals seem to have a lot of atrophy. They were in very tiny cages and very filthy enclosures. I’m sure they’re all full of parasites, and those are things that we’ll deal with when we get back to our veterinarian hospital at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge.
Sheppard: What was the scene like yesterday? Can you kind of describe to me what was what it was like for you guys? What happened?
Smith: Well, it was pretty interesting. Whenever you’re going on a mission like this and you’re going in with a SWAT team and they protect us by making sure that the perpetrator is subdued and you know, unfortunately, he fought back and ended up back in jail.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Pahrump man released from jail following removal of several tigers from property
And when we get back to Arkansas, we’ll be able to get these animals out into a big natural enclosure where they’ll get to be on grass and not on this dirty, terrible substrate they were on there.
The animal control issues at this facility were some of the worst I’ve ever seen, and when I say I’ve rescued over 500 of these big cats and bears from all over the country, I’ve seen some really bad stuff, but this just is the same stuff that we see at these places.
Sheppard: What was the drug did you used to sedate the animals?
Smith: Our vet took care of all of that. She has a cocktail of drugs that work well.
Sheppard: The owner we spoke to yesterday was saying ketamine and was concerned about that. Are you able to clarify that?
Dr. Kellyn Sweeley, TCRW Veterinarian: We used an MK mixture, so it’s melatonin, ketamine, and midazolam.
Sheppard: Does this mixture have any side effects?
Dr. Sweeley: Anytime you’re sedating a… not only a big cat but a dangerous carnivore… you’re always going to want a dissociative on board for human safety. We’re taught in vet school and exotic zoological medicine to always have ketamine when you’re dealing with big cats or primates.
Unfortunately, it does cause a bit of nausea.
Sheppard: Who’s paying for the transportation of these animals?
Smith: Right now, it’s out of the goodness of our hearts that we are coming out here to do this rescue. Nobody’s paying us anything at this point. We will be asking our donor base if they can help us out because this isn’t a cheap trip to make.
From Arkansas, we will also be filing an expense report with Nye County and try to recoup some of our expenses at least.
But you know our only goal is to save these animals and get them some of the dignity and respect that they deserve. Get them out of a terrible environment.
READ MORE: Pahrump man claimed tigers were service animals, court documents reveal
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