A township council in Southern Ontario voted to remove two tigers, Jagger and Aspen, from a residential property as Zohaib Masood has been keeping two one-year-old tigers in the Niagara Region since last fall. Masood rescued the tigers from owners in Ontario who got them as pets but then could not manage them. The voting was done after a security concern was raised, since the area is a residential one. Mayor Brian Grant said the administration does not have the resources to handle any untoward situation if the tigers escape or if there is a fire incident.
“Heaven forbid there’s fre in the property and our fire department has to go there to put out a fire or something like that and one of these animals is escaping,” the mayor said.
Masood said he kept the tigers behind multiple layers of fencing and some of the barriers are even 16 feet high. Several gates had to be unlocked before anyone could reach the enclosure, he said, adding that the tigers did not show any interest in escaping. All zoo guidelines are being followed, Masood said, though Monday is the last day to relocate the two tigers, the council told him.
Jagger and Aspen are hybrids of Bengal and Siberian tigers.
Jagger weighs about 300 pounds and Aspen about 250 pounds, the Winnipeg Sun reported. “They love each other,” Masood said. “They can’t be separated now. ”
“When you understand their behavior and what to do and what not to do, you kind of understand them,” he said to National Post. “They’re big strong animals, but we do know their personalities and how to, you know, maneuver them.”
Masood said he wanted to create a private sanctuary for rescued exotic animals. He said he was trying to find another location for the animals. The tiger retreat was not accessible to the public and there was no profit involved. It was a self-funded project and only meant for rescuing animals.
Masood was also keeping a four-month-old male white tiger cub named Atlas and a 10-month-old male spotted hyena named Marilyn at his Wainfleet property. But they were seized last November by Ontario Animal Welfare Services because they weren’t getting the proper food, drinking water or care. Masood recently lost his bid to have Atlas and Marilyn returned.
