In 2021, Eddie—a young jaguar—became an unfortunate victim of the illegal exotic animal trade. Bred in captivity and trafficked by known wildlife dealer Trisha Denise Meyer, he was used as a photo prop and shuffled from hotel to hotel before being sold as a pet, reports say.
It wasn’t long before Eddie was abandoned at the gates of
Lions Tigers & Bears,
a licensed sanctuary in Alpine. He arrived malnourished, filthy, and missing patches of fur, according to the sanctuary.
The sanctuary stepped in to give Eddie the medical attention and care he desperately needed. But for over a year, his story was kept quiet while federal officials investigated those responsible. In October 2022, charges were filed. On Monday, Meyer was sentenced—not to prison, but to just six months of probation, far less than the possible eight years and $700,000 in fines she faced, a news release from the sanctuary reports.
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Eddie, meanwhile, has made a full recovery. Now a permanent resident at Lions Tigers & Bears, he enjoys a peaceful life with space to roam, a proper diet, enrichment, and year-round veterinary care.
His story, according to the sanctuary, is a reminder of how widespread and damaging the exotic animal trade can be—and how much more work remains to ensure animals like Eddie are protected by stronger laws and enforcement.
A video of Eddie can be found
here
.
