Can You Legally Own A Tiger In Texas? Find Out Here!

Have you ever thought about how cool it would be to own a tiger? After Mike Tyson got one as a pet and the movie "The Hangover" came out, owning a tiger became even cooler. Then came the Tiger King who had everyone thinking what it would be like to own a tiger.

Is it legal to own or possess a tiger here in the great state of Texas?

You actually can. It's not as easy as going down to the local tiger adoption center and taking one home. You have to file for a permit and be approved before you can have one. Ownership and possession of an animal like a tiger is regulated by the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife.

Who Can Qualify To Own A Tiger?

Anyone! When you apply for your permit you must be able to prove you can properly cage the animal.

Due to the leniency of restriction and anyone being able to be approved about 2000 tigers are living in Texas as pets, which makes Texas second to India in having the most tigers in possession.  In Texas, in some cases, you can purchase a tiger cub for less than what you can buy for certain breeds of dogs. Just like normal pet owners some tigers are taken really good care of and some are left to live in deplorable conditions, king of like Tiger King.

Now obviously it is not recommended that you own one, because tigers are meant to be in the wild. They may be cute and cuddly but they are not meant to be domesticated. Once domesticated they can never be returned to the wild. No matter how loving they become their wild nature still exists down deep inside of them. Like the old saying goes, you can take the tiger out of the wild but you can never take the wild out of the tiger.

You and I would never want to be kept in a cage and neither do these animals. They are meant to run wild and free. I would probably own a tiger if I had the space for it but you all know I would own an alligator in a heartbeat if it was legal.

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