A Nevada man was arrested last week after authorities seized seven tigers from his property. Karl Mitchell, 71, claimed the Bengal tigers were all “emotional support animals.” However, local authorities say that Mitchell did not have the proper permits to keep the animals, NBC News reported.
Mitchell is a resident of Pahrump, an unincorporated town in Nye County, around 100 km away from Las Vegas. Last Wednesday, Nye County authorities raided his property and seized the seven tigers.
The Nevada man was arrested on charges of resisting arrest and possession of a gun by a prohibited person, according to records from the Nye County Sheriff’s Office quoted by The New York Times.
Emotional support tigers
Nye County Sheriff Joe McGill told NBC News that the 71-year-old man had been seen taking his tigers on walks outside his desert property. He had also shared social media posts that show other people interacting with the tigers. Both of these are violations of the law.
“We have known for several years he has had big cats on his property, and for the last two years, this has been in violation because he had no permits for those cats,” the sheriff said.
{{/usCountry}}“We have known for several years he has had big cats on his property, and for the last two years, this has been in violation because he had no permits for those cats,” the sheriff said.
{{/usCountry}}The Sheriff’s Office said that the tigers were kept at his property without required permits. When asked for the keys to their enclosure, Mitchell reportedly refused. He was arrested on Wednesday morning and the tigers were seized by the SWAT team that raided his home.
While authorities say that the seven Bengal tigers were kept without proper permits, Mitchell has a different take.
The 71-year-old Nevada man says he is a veteran suffering from PTSD, and that a doctor with the Department of Veterans Affairs had approved of his keeping the tigers as “emotional support” animals.
“They give me calmness, peace,” Mitchell told The New York Times. “They are our whole life, and they’re our children.”