Man Brings Tiger Into Bar–Wins At Life, Loses At Law

John Basile, of Lockport, Illinois, was charged with disorderly conduct on February 15 after entering a bar with a tiger. That’s right, he didn’t get too out of his mind wasted…he just decided that bringing a tiger into a bar was a perfectly reasonable thing to do. Perhaps Basile had been watching The Hangover and maybe got a little too inspired by the film?

The tiger cub is actually an animal at Basile’s own animal rescue center, Big Run Wolf Ranch, which is licensed by the federal government. The ranch is essentially a collection of cages filled with other exotic animals like wolves and a bear that is behind Basile’s home.

Although the tiger was pretty cute and the fact that it was only a cub didn’t make a difference for the local police. They were less than enthused with Basile’s bizzare (and drunken) decision to bring it into a crowded establishment.

Witness Frances Escoe said: ‘There were people in their cars shouting like, “Is that a tiger? Is that a tiger?” going over the Ninth Street Bridge.’

“My concern really was for the people who frequented downtown area.” Police Chief, Terry Leming said. ” This was at 7:30 night on a Sunday in an area that has a lot of people walking around.”

Basile faces misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct, reckless conduct and possession of a dangerous animal.  Let’s go ahead and add this to the top 10 ways to get kicked out of a bar. We have to hand it to Basile, this is clearly one of the more clever ways.