Hedren urges Jackson fans to help captive tigers
Actress TIPPI HEDREN is urging MICHAEL JACKSON fans to honour the star by helping the exotic animals she rescued from his Neverland ranch.
The Birds star adopted the King of Pop's two tigers, Thriller and Sabu, when Jackson was forced to give up the private zoo at his Santa Barbara estate in 2005.
Hedren has been looking after the creatures at her animal sanctuary, the Los Angeles Shambala Preserve, which is home to 68 tigers, lions and other big cats who have retired from the entertainment industry or are unwanted pets.
Hedren admits she informed Jackson's former pets about the star's tragic death last week (25Jun09).
She says, "I went up and sat with them for a while and let them know that Michael was gone. You don't know what mental telepathy exists from the human to the animal. But I hope they understood."
She's hoping Jackson fans will mourn the superstar by donating to her organisation and joining her campaign to bring in a law banning big cats being kept as pets.
According to Hedren, nearly 600 people have been killed or permanently maimed by captive big cats in America in the last five years.
She says, "You're taking an apex predator and saying, 'Let's make a pet out of him.' It's insanity. We're hoping very much that people will wake up and say, of course, it's nonsense to keep these animals as pets."
Other animals from Jackson's private zoo have been separated amongst sanctuaries and individuals since the star's financial problems forced him to close his zoo.
The star's most famed pet - chimpanzee Bubbles - is living at the Center for Great Apes in Florida, with sanctuary bosses there also urging fans for support.
