There are more tigers in Texas than in their native land of India.

The exotic animal trade is a billion-dollar industry. Texas—which has almost no regulation of exotic animals—has always been a hotbed. The few laws Texas does have are rarely enforced. With such little oversight, animal experts and law enforcement officials say, the breeding and smuggling of exotic animals—tigers in particular—are booming in Texas.

“It probably has the largest population of tigers in the country,” says Richard Farinato, a senior adviser with the Humane Society of the United States, “because there are a lot of animal breeders and a lot of animal dealers.”

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