Rocky at home at the county zoo. Photo by Joe Hart.

COURT HOUSE – The Cape May County Park Zoo found its way onto the pages of the Wall Street Journal, Tue., Dec. 27, not because the facility is a major corporation or an investment but because it keeps a tiger, affectionately known as Rocky.

A bill that was the brainchild of Mark O’Donnell, domestic partner of former Gov. James McGreevey, would impose additional regulations on any facility that houses a tiger. The bill moved through the state Senate but appears to have stalled in the Assembly. Locally, the bill has no support.

That bill would require tiger owners to microchip the animals as well as provide a DNA sample, photo, and full description of the animal as well as a hair sample to the state Department of Environmental Protection. The bill would also require proper disposal of the carcass after a tiger’s death since there is a market for their body parts in China and possibly in the U.S.

The bill was passed unanimously in the Senate with Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D-1st) abstaining from the vote. A similar bill was introduced in the Assembly and referred to Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. First District Assemblyman Nelson Albano (D) is chairman of that committee.

The Wall Street Journal reported animal activists fear ports in the state could serve as “smuggling hubs for tiger parts.” The Journal further reported a World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) study in 2004 found Chinese medicines for sale in New York that contained exotic animal bones.
Save Tigers Now.Org via WWF found the U.S. has an estimated 5,000 tigers in captivity in zoos, rescue centers and private hands.

Dr. Alex Ernest, a veterinarian at the county zoo, told the Herald the bill was “overkill.”

“We’re already an (accredited) AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums) zoo,” he said.

The county zoo has Rocky, a Siberian Tiger. Ernest said tigers are a Species Survival Plan managed species. That means their population in zoos is managed by the AZA.

“For the state to put further regulations, at least for an AZA zoo, is completely unnecessary,” said Ernst. “Just by being accredited, we already follow some pretty strict guidelines on the way we keep not just tigers but every species we have here.”

Ernest said it was difficult if not impossible for a private owner to possess a tiger in New Jersey. He questioned whether the bill would make it difficult for AZA-accredited zoos to acquire tigers in the future.
Ernest said if the bill passes, he would like to see AZA-accredited zoos exempted from the legislation.

“There wouldn’t be a AZA zoo or any zoo I would know of that, after an animal passes away, they would sell their parts to anybody,” he said. “That is the most unethical thing any facility could do.”

Van Drew told the Herald he had asked the Senate to amend the bill.
He agreed with 99 percent of the bill, however AZA-certified zoos should exempted from the bill. Van Drew said AZA-certified zoos already dealt with a lot of “red tape” and took good care of their animals.
He said the legislation should apply to circuses or private owners of tigers, although he questioned tigers be owned by private owners.

“I didn’t vote for it because it did not exempt the Cape May County Zoo,” said Van Drew. “At the end of the day, it costs taxpayers and the county and the zoo more money to do this and it just isn’t fair.”

DEP spokesman Larry Hajna told the Herald there are 24 tigers in five zoos in state and none in the hands of private owners. He said there have been no cases of tiger parts being sold in the state.

Rocky, the zoo’s tiger, is 10 years old and is not micro-chipped. He was born at Great Adventure in 2001, arrived at the county zoo in 2002 and was hand raised by Dr. Hubert Paluch, zoo director and veterinarian.

“He’s the centerpiece of our zoo,” he said Ernst. “People come here just to see him.”

Two years ago, Rocky moved into a larger enclosure costing approximately $45,000, made possible through a cooperative effort between county government, the Cape May County Zoological Society and private donors.