I-Team: Tigers in cages on exhibit at Cincinnati mall; protesters plan demonstration

CINCINNATI - On the very day Ohio Gov. John Kasich announced he's cracking down on exotic pets, the I-team found a traveling exhibit showcasing wild animals right here in the Tri-State.

G.W Exotics Animal Foundation brought its caged tigers on display at Northgate Mall three days after a Zanesville man set free his lions, tigers and bears, then killed himself. Police shot and killed 49 of the wild animals.

Friday, long lines queued up, paying $30 apiece to snap photos and sit inside cages with animals. The I-Team saw one cage with two 3-month-old tiger cubs. Another cage held two more tigers the worker representing the exhibit said were six months old. Other animals sat in other cages inside the mall. Outside, a shiny metal semi truck with the words “endangered show” parked in the mall lot.

The traveling exhibit hails from Oklahoma, where its owner, Joe Schreibvogel, operates a zoo with hundreds of animals. The I-Team searched government sites and found a citation issued by the United States Department of Agriculture last month complaining of lack of veterinary care for several animals at the group’s main zoo. We also found complaints online from animal rights groups upset with how G.W. Exotics transports some very young animals around the country.

Inside Northgate Mall, workers were handing out leaflets including solicitations for donations. “Help build an animal a log house” at $380 per cabin, said one. “Sponsor an animal”, said another. Sponsorships ranged from $150 to $600. Another leaflet showed a cute wild cat cub and said “Adopt an animal today”, at $25 per month. The worker on hand said, "What we do is, we have a rescue shelter where we rescue big cats and other exotic animals. We also propose that people have the right to have these animals if you have the proper facilities."

The owner of G.W. Exotics is Joe Schreibvogel. We left a message for him via the main number in Oklahoma and are waiting for a response. We also called the office and left a message for the manager.

A group of demonstrators plans to meet outside the Applebee’s on Colerain Avenue Saturday for a “peaceful protest against abusive tiger cub exhibits at malls”, according to organizer Laura Dolan.

“In the wake of the tragedy in Zanesville… it is more important than ever for Ohioans to speak up for the magnificent animals who cannot speak for themselves," Dolan said. "Tiger cubs do not belong in malls.”

Dolan says breeders like the one exhibiting at Northgate Mall this weekend use the cats when they’re young, carting them across the country in semi-trailers, and then when the cubs grow up, sell them to private owners like Terry Thompson in Zanesville.

We wanted to ask G. W Exotics about these allegations but did not receive the email we were promised nor the phone number for the owner to call.