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Eatery Wants to Use Tigers As Attraction <br/><br/> HOUSTON - A downtown restaurant that already features sharks and other exotic aquatic life wants to add another attraction from the animal kingdom: white tigers. <br/><br/> Houston businessman Tilman Fertitta is working to display three tigers at his Downtown Aquarium restaurant. <br/><br/> But animal rights activists are condemning the proposal, and some council members say it would violate a city ordinance barring people from having a wild animal in the city. <br/><br/> Restaurant officials say their establishment and downtown Houston would be a more attractive destination for residents, tourists and conventions if the animals were there. They also promise to treat the tigers humanely. <br/><br/> Fertitta, president and chief executive of Landry's Restaurants Inc., which operates the Downtown Aquarium, hopes to get around the city's exotic animal ordinance by seeking accreditation from the American Zoological Association. <br/><br/> "We feel like this is a zoo facility," said Jeff Cantwell senior vice president of development for Landry's. "This is about entertainment and education. It's no different from the Houston Zoo in that respect." <br/><br/> Landry's has received that accreditation for a similar exhibit at a Denver restaurant. <br/><br/> But animal rights activist Anthony Marr said Fertitta's plan is a commercial enterprise and that "there does not seem to be a single thought for the well-being of these animals or the future of the species." <br/><br/> 休斯顿－一家已经在店堂中陈列了鲨鱼和其他奇异水族生物的饭店，近日决定引入另一位成员，动物家族的国王－白虎，来增加饭店的吸引力。休斯顿商人Tilman Fertitta正在运作在他位于该城市区的水族馆饭店中展示三只老虎。但是动物保护倡导者纷纷谴责这个提议，而且一些国会人员也提出，由于现行法律禁止人们在城市中饲养动物，因而这种行为是违法的。 <br/><br/> 饭店相关人员说，如果饭店里展示这些动物，不论对于居民还是游客，都会使得饭店和休斯顿市区更具吸引力。我们承诺会人道地对待这些老虎。 <br/><br/> Fertitta，Landry饭店的董事长和总经理，运作了这家市区水族馆，他希望能够得到美国动物学会的特许，从而规避城市的珍惜动物管理规定。饭店负责经营发展的副总裁Jeff Cantwell说：“我们觉得这更像是一个动物园类的机构，具有娱乐和教育目的，从这个意义上讲与休斯顿动物园没有什么大的区别。”此前，Landry已经在位于丹佛的饭馆中获得了一个类似的特许。 <br/><br/> 但是，动物保护主义者仍然坚持说，Fertitta的计划只是一个商业经营行为，而决不是仅仅为了动物的福利或是物种的未来着想的。 <br/><br/> |
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