Dakota County Fair organizers voted unanimously Monday night to terminate a contract that would have brought a controversial white tiger exhibit to the fair in August.

Illinois-based All Things Wild had planned to bring White Tiger Discovery to the fair from Aug. 5 through Aug. 11. It charges $3 for people to see the exhibit.

The Humane Society of the United States objected to the display and wrote a letter to the Dakota County Agricultural Society asking it to rethink the tigers.

The nonprofit alleged that making wild animals travel in small cages to a series of fairs is inhumane and that the exhibit's owner has a history of citations from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for improper animal care.

Board members didn't discuss their reasons for ending the contract but did say it didn't cost them money.

But before the meeting, society members discussed the many e-mails they received about the tigers. Roger Janak said he got "a lot of them ... from all over the country."

The fair will still feature a petting zoo and another domestic animal display, they said, clarifying that the main objection to the tigers was that they were wild animals.

Erin Adler