Exhibitor’s Lion and Tiger Seized After Complaints of Mistreatment

Some flashy Las Vegas cats have been cooling their heels in Tujunga ever since Pomona authorities canceled their L.A. gigs.

Aslan and Jagger, a lion and a tiger who have spent the last six to nine months traveling across the West in a converted potato chip truck, were seized from their owner, Joshua Saul Weinstein, 26, by Pomona Valley Humane Society officers who said the exotic cat exhibitor was storing his stars in inadequate conditions and working under a revoked permit.

The Humane Society said it had wanted to act against Weinstein for more than a year after receiving complaints that he mistreated the animals while exhibiting them at the Los Angeles County Fairplex in Pomona.

A Humane Society inspection determined that the cats were in good condition. But early in December, Aslan--who had grown significantly--escaped from the former Frito-Lay truck that was parked in a residential area of Pomona.

He was captured and returned without incident, but within weeks the Humane Society received several other complaints about how Weinstein was caring for his cats, said Marsha Wyatt, a field supervisor for the society.

Finally, Wyatt said, “we ran him out of town.”

Humane Society officials, who told Weinstein to leave Pomona and return his animals to their home base in Las Vegas, later learned from U.S. Department of Agriculture officials in Las Vegas that Weinstein had been evicted from the Nevada facility.

Weinstein could not be reached for comment.

Despite warnings from Humane Society and USDA officials, Weinstein returned to Pomona last weekend and attempted to show the big cats at a swap meet-style exhibit. He was cited for several violations and had to surrender the animals.

Aslan and Jagger will be returned to their owner when he gets a proper facility for them, Wyatt said.

But that may take longer than expected. As Weinstein drove off the fairgrounds, Pomona police officers stopped him for driving without license plates and impounded his car upon discovering that he had been driving without insurance or valid registration.