Eatery Wants to Use Tigers As Attraction

　　HOUSTON - A downtown restaurant that already features sharks and other exotic aquatic life wants to add another attraction from the animal kingdom: white tigers.

　　Houston businessman Tilman Fertitta is working to display three tigers at his Downtown Aquarium restaurant.

　　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.

　　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.

　　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.

　　"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."

　　Landry's has received that accreditation for a similar exhibit at a Denver restaurant.

　　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."

　　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。

　　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。

　　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。

　　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。