Animal Dealer Who Buys From Prestigious Zoos May Lose U.S. Permit

SAN DIEGO —  Federal authorities may revoke the endangered-wildlife permit of Earl Tatum, a controversial Arkansas animal dealer who has been a purchaser and transporter of animals from prestigious zoos across the country, including the Los Angeles and San Diego zoos.

Questions about Tatum’s activities have brought into public focus the widespread zoo practice of selling captive-bred, “surplus” wildlife, a much-debated and extremely divisive topic in the zoo and animal rights communities.

Tatum, one of the busiest and best-known haulers and buyers of so-called exotic, or non-native, species from the nation’s zoos, has had a host of difficulties with federal wildlife regulators in recent years, government documents show.

But officials said a $7,000 fine levied against him last week for the 1986 sale of a zoo-bred snow leopard cub, an endangered species, appears to mark his most serious violation to date, which could result in revocation of Tatum’s U.S. permit to sell and transport threatened animals in interstate commerce.

“This is not an innocent violation,” said Jill Fallon, a special assistant in the office of the solicitor of the U.S. Department of Interior.

In papers submitted to U.S. authorities, Tatum has denied that he wrongly sold the snow leopard, which he contended was a legal donation. Last week, he did not return several telephone calls made to his Arkansas home and business. But his wife, Dianna, said he continues to deny the allegation.

“He’s going to fight it, you bet,” she said.

Even before the snow leopard case emerged, the San Francisco, Los Angeles and Detroit zoos had ceased doing business with Tatum.

Officials at those facilities voiced suspicions that some of the animals Tatum purchased might have been sold at exotic animal auctions or subsequently purchased by questionable buyers, including hunting ranches, where big-game hunters pay thousands of dollars to shoot trophy species.

To most zoo visitors, it is incomprehensible that endangered or rare animals could be considered “surplus.” But zoo officials argue that surplus animals are a necessary byproduct of successful breeding programs, which reduce the need to pluck animals from the wild.

Some critics, though, say careless breeding practices and mismanagement at zoos are to blame for the trade in rare species--as is a desire to stock zoos with young and “cuddly” animals.

“After animals grow out of the ‘cute’ stage, they are cast off indiscriminately by large, small, and even accredited . . . zoos,” Dr. John W. Grandy, vice president of the Humane Society of the United States, wrote in an article on the issue last summer.

Many zoo directors bristle at such criticism.

“I don’t think we breed indiscriminately,” said James M. Dolan Jr., director of collections for the San Diego Zoological Society, which includes the zoo and the Wild Animal Park.

From the viewpoint of his defenders, including those at the San Diego Zoo, Tatum, 59, plays a crucial role in the effort to save rare species bred in captivity.

In recent years, he has acquired hundreds of creatures--everything from camels and exotic antelopes to deer and zebras, lemurs, kangaroos, gazelles and Asian lions--from many of the most prestigious zoos, including those in San Diego, Chicago, Washington and St. Louis.

The San Diego Zoo suspended relations with Tatum and another dealer last fall after journalists for the CBS television program “60 Minutes” raised questions about Tatum’s presence at a Missouri wildlife auction. But officials said they resumed business with Tatum after he assured them he did not buy or sell animals at the auction, but was merely there as an observer.

In fact, Tatum is so important to the San Diego Zoo that officials there say they would be in a serious bind if his services were no longer available.

“What happens if he (Tatum) dies?” asked Dolan, who said he has known Tatum for 20 years. “You can’t just put them (animals) anywhere. You can’t just rent a U-Haul.”