To: Athens Town Board

Re: The Wildcat Sanctuary and Meme, the tiger

The Wildcat Sanctuary plays an important role not not only to the animals of Athens Township and Minnesota, but also to the people and community where it resides.

Thousands of places call themselves sanctuaries, only 14 are accredited to house wildcats and The Wildcat Sanctuary has had to meet the toughest standards in the industry to be accredited.

It is extremely important for Athens and other townships and cities to have a credible, reliable resources to utilize when dealing with difficult situations, such as the seizure or placement of exotic animals by law enforcement. No one in the state has been a better resource for placing these animals, which require expert care and specialized knowledge. The Wildcat Sanctuary has always been the first place to provide this vital assistance to law enforcement.

The Minnesota Legislature passed a law in 2005 intentionally exempting sanctuaries (such as The Wildcat Sanctuary) in order to benefit the State, protect the public, and provide a secure place for seized and unwanted animals to be housed and cared for.

Meme, the 26-year-old bengal tiger, is one of those animals. She has resided at TWS since June 2001 without incidence. She now has colon and mammary cancer. Moving her out of state would be life threatening.

Based on this, we, the undersigned below, respectfully request that you consider allowing Meme, the tiger to live out her days at The Wildcat Sanctuary. Please do not vote for Meme to be removed or revoke The Wildcat Sanctuarys interim use permit.

Thank you.