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."
    休斯頓－一家已經(jīng)在店堂中陳列了鯊魚和其他奇異水族生物的飯店，近日決定引入另一位成員，動物家族的國王－白虎，來增加飯店的吸引力。休斯頓商人Tilman Fertitta正在運(yùn)作在他位于該城市區(qū)的水族館飯店中展示三只老虎。但是動物保護(hù)倡導(dǎo)者紛紛譴責(zé)這個提議，而且一些國會人員也提出，由于現(xiàn)行法律禁止人們在城市中飼養(yǎng)動物，因而這種行為是違法的。
    飯店相關(guān)人員說，如果飯店里展示這些動物，不論對于居民還是游客，都會使得飯店和休斯頓市區(qū)更具吸引力。我們承諾會人道地對待這些老虎。
    Fertitta，Landry飯店的董事長和總經(jīng)理，運(yùn)作了這家市區(qū)水族館，他希望能夠得到美國動物學(xué)會的特許，從而規(guī)避城市的珍惜動物管理規(guī)定。飯店負(fù)責(zé)經(jīng)營發(fā)展的副總裁Jeff Cantwell說：“我們覺得這更像是一個動物園類的機(jī)構(gòu)，具有娛樂和教育目的，從這個意義上講與休斯頓動物園沒有什么大的區(qū)別?！贝饲?，Landry已經(jīng)在位于丹佛的飯館中獲得了一個類似的特許。
    但是，動物保護(hù)主義者仍然堅(jiān)持說，F(xiàn)ertitta的計劃只是一個商業(yè)經(jīng)營行為，而決不是僅僅為了動物的福利或是物種的未來著想的。