SAN DIEGO — A jaguar is now thriving in a sanctuary after surviving wildlife trafficking as a young cub.
According to investigators, the first few months of Eddie the jaguar’s life were rough, surviving in the underworld of the exotic animal trade.
Bobbi Brink is the founder of Lions Tigers & Bears, the only accredited exotic animal sanctuary in San Diego. It is a no kill, no breed facility and they don’t allow anyone to touch the animals to take photographs with them.
Surveillance video at Lions Tigers & Bears captured two people dropping Eddie off at their front gate in a dog crate last year.
“Eddie’s really the lucky one that they dropped him off because they were going to kill Eddie,” Brink said. “And that’s usually what they do. They kill the animal or it disappears because they don’t want to be exposed and they don’t want to get in trouble.”
Thanks to an in-depth investigation by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, two people have been charged with trafficking an endangered species.
Trisha Denise Meyer, aka “Mimi,” of Houston, is charged with interstate transportation of an endangered species in the course of commercial activity, interstate sale of an endangered species, trafficking prohibited wildlife species, and trafficking endangered species. Agents said she was on the run for several weeks before finally turning herself in.
Abdul Rahman, aka “Manny Rahman,” of Murrieta, is charged with interstate transportation of an endangered species in the course of commercial activity, trafficking prohibited wildlife species, and trafficking endangered species.
The criminal charges against Meyer and Rahman allege violations of the Endangered Species Act, under which jaguars are protected, and the Lacey Act, which prohibits wildlife trafficking.
Agents with the investigation said they also uncovered that Meyer brought Eddie to hotel rooms for photo ops and took naked photos with Eddie to gain subscribers to her OnlyFans account.
Ed Newcomer was the lead investigator on Eddie’s case. He spent 20 years as a special agent for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service before retiring this year. Newcomer said he filed the charges in this trafficking case a week before he retired.
“In taking stock of my career as a federal agent, I realized that I’d handled wildlife trafficking cases that involved every continent on Earth, including Antarctica,” Newcomer said. “Most of these cases sadly involved wildlife parts or animals that were already dead. Whenever I had a chance to work on a case that involved live wildlife, particularly babies, I tried to make it a priority. So, this was a case I was going to close before I retired, no question.”
According to Newcomer, special agents with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are just like agents with the FBI or Secret Service. They are plain clothes federal investigators who carry firearms and have the authority to make arrests. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service special agents are specifically tasked with enforcing federal wildlife laws, which means they spend a lot of time working on cases involving international and interstate trafficking of protected or prohibited wildlife.
Newcomer said the exotic pet trade is bad for several reasons.
“We don’t want large carnivorous animals living in our communities. No matter how tame they appear to be, they are wild animals and, in the wild, humans might be on their menu,” he said. “We don’t want these animals to be living in unsecure settings in communities where children and innocent neighbors could be at risk if they escape. Second, exotic animals have the ability to carry serious diseases that can impact humans. Primates, for example, contract and transmit many of the diseases that impact human beings. Even wild birds can pose a serious health risk for humans. Last, of course, it’s just bad for the wildlife. I don’t know about you, but I really like the idea of there being wild jaguars, tigers, lions and other wild animals out there in their natural habitats, regardless of whether I’ll ever get to see them there.”
Ryan Holmes is a keeper at Lions Tigers & Bears and has taken care of Eddie since he first arrived. He said Eddie was so malnourished as a cub that he was cross-eyed and needed around-the-clock care. Now, he is overseeing the finishing touches on Eddie’s new habitat. They built every detail with Eddie in mind: lots of rocks, grass and trees to climb so Eddie can enjoy natural jaguar behaviors.
“So there’s no, unfortunately, rehabilitation for these animals, they will be here the rest of their life so our goal is always to make sure that they’re comfortable, they’re healthy, they get the best that they can even though they’re still in enclosures,” Holmes said. “Just give them the best life possible. That’s all we’re here for.”
Brink said the allure of owning exotic big cats continues to put them at risk and any place that lets you pet or take photos with them is a huge red flag.
“Exotic animal trade is a multi-billion-dollar industry. It’s an underground industry that’s still going on where animals are bought, traded, used and abused; used for photo ops,” Brink said. “Still to this day, I don’t believe we know where this cat originated from, like, who bred the cat and who sold it to [Meyer]?”
Newcomer said it has been a constant fight to protect the lives of innocent animals from the criminals trying to exploit them, but he has more hope now that the U.S. Senate just passed the Big Cat Public Safety Act. The bill prohibits keeping big cats as pets and also bans contact between big cats and the public.
“The new law will amend the Lacey Act, which is an important federal law designed to protect wildlife, and will close some of the loopholes that allow exotic pet dealers to operate,” Newcomer said. “In the past, the Lacey Act has only been useful where violators have engaged in the interstate or international transport of wildlife possessed or sold in violation of law. There are a few states in the U.S. that allow the possession and sale of exotic animals, like jaguars. Under federal law, it has always been illegal to sell and transport those animals across state lines, but mere possession of these iconic cats has never been a violation of federal law.”
“These new amendments do two important things: First, it makes it illegal for the average person to even possess most big cats, including jaguars. Second, it places enforcement of the new provisions within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In the past, big cat possession has been regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which does not have robust law enforcement capabilities on these issues. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has the law enforcement capabilities necessary to enforce our federal wildlife laws. This represents one more important tool in the effort to deter and eliminate the purchase, sale and possession of endangered, protected, or prohibited wildlife species.”
Both Brink and Newcomer urge people not to be a part of the problem by participating in cub petting, or being misled by videos on social media depicting a tame, loveable, cute wild animal.