If you're from Montana, you're surely familiar with the magic of Jay Ownehouse. The Bozeman-based entertainer has been wowing audiences in the Treasure State for decades and over the years he's taken his act on the road to countless venues across the country. His act was probably one of the first magic shows I attended. It was a long time ago, so remembering the highlights is a bit fuzzy, but I love magic shows and I remember being fairly impressed.

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Owenhouse pulled his proposal for a tiger sanctuary in Las Vegas.

Browsing the AP News headlines today (1/18), I read that Owenhouse has pulled his proposal to open a tiger sanctuary on a vacant parking lot in Las Vegas. Originally reported by KLAS-TV, the magic man hoped to have a yearlong magic show at the proposed tiger facility.

The AP story said the plan was met with pushback from animal rights groups. KLAS noted that Owenhouse had received approval back in 2020 to have the sanctuary and show at a different location on the south end of the Las Vegas strip, but the property owners backed out.

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Owenhouse family tiger. Photo via YouTube screengrab
Owenhouse family tiger. Photo via YouTube screengrab
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Performance animals raise questions.

Owenhouse owns at least 3 tigers, according to the animal rights website 911AnimalAbuse.com, one of them is a rare white tiger. They wrote,

From an animal care standpoint, Owenhouse is actually pretty good for a private owner. He has no USDA violations (license# 81-C-0031) and I could find no allegations of abuse other than the standard criticism for using tigers as magic props. He feeds his cats Nebraska brand feline diet, which is used by AZA zoos, and he regularly provides them with enrichment toys like Boomer Balls. The 1,200 sq. ft. warehouse enclosure he built for the tigers is partially outdoors and includes a den, a heated pool, and a fountain.

It's clear that Owenhouse loves his animals. The official website for Jay Owenhouse is currently a "coming soon" placeholder for an updated site and I was unable to find a 2022 show schedule.

LOOK: Here are the pets banned in each state

Because the regulation of exotic animals is left to states, some organizations, including The Humane Society of the United States, advocate for federal, standardized legislation that would ban owning large cats, bears, primates, and large poisonous snakes as pets.

Read on to see which pets are banned in your home state, as well as across the nation.

 

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