Animal welfare advocates have vowed to continue their protests against the Animal Extravaganza despite the animals being cleared by the Government veterinary officer.

The three tigers ? a cub and its parents ? plus four bears arrived on the Island on Sunday after weeks of protests regarding the Animal Extravaganza show. It took two days for the animals to travel in air-conditioned containers aboard a ship with their caretaker, who is also a vet.

Government Veterinary Officer Dr. Jonathan Nisbett inspected the animals upon their arrival. The animals were then towed by trucks to Tiger Bay in St. George?s. Dr. Nisbett had inspected the animals on three occasions as of press time yesterday.

?Everything?s in great shape,? he said. ?The animals look great. The caretakers seem to be quite knowledgeable. They have met what we asked for.?

The ?Animal Extravaganza? is being put on by DNA Entertainment.

For several weeks animal welfare groups have spoken out against plans to bring the animals to the Island and said the show is morally and ethically wrong. Protestors were also at hand at the Hamilton docks on Sunday.

International groups also spoke out about the inhumane conditions captive animals are forced to endure and begged the Government not to allow the show come to the Island.

Minister of Environment, Neletha Butterfield, decided last week to grant permission to DNA Entertainment to hold the shows.

?These submissions contained generalisations regarding animal cruelty, but lacked any evidence of violations by the exhibitors,? she said. ?The exhibitors are licensed by the US Department of Agriculture and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission., and our due diligence has revealed numerous inspection reports that showed no evidence of violations.?

Animal welfare groups hit back and said Bermuda should consider more than minimum requirements as criteria for shows coming to the Island while others pointed out that the UK and India have already banned such shows.

And some animal welfare advocates have vowed to stand outside of every show and hand out flyers that detail what they perceive to be the cruelty animals must endure in order to be shipped to Bermuda. The flyer also states that the methods used to train large animals strip them of their wild animal identity and are tantamount to brainwashing.

Yesterday a DNA Entertainment spokesman said tickets were selling fast. Late last week organiser Ray Hollis said an extra Sunday show had been added to accommodate everyone interested in the event.

In addition to the tigers, which come from Florida?s Big Cat Habitat, and bears, there will be an acrobatic act involving a dog and its trainer.

The act, involving Kyra Sundance and her Weimaraner dog Chalcy has been featured on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and the Ellen DeGeneres Show.

The pair first became famous when they won the bronze medal, and $7,500, on Animal Planet?s ?Pet Star?.

For information about show times and to purchase tickets visit www.dnashows.com or call 293-5555.