BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Tony the Tiger can stay in his quarters at a Grosse Tete  truck stop.

Gov. Bobby Jindal has signed into law Senate Bill 250, granting an exception for the tiger.

The bill, which the governor sent to the Secretary of State's Office as part of a huge batch of signed legislation, now is Act 697.

The Advocate reports animal rights groups had pressured the governor to veto it while truck stop owner Michael Sandlin asked Jindal to keep Tony in the only home he's ever known.

The bill's sponsor, state Sen. Rick Ward III, a Republican from Maringouin, applauded the governor's decision Friday.

Sandlin told Nola.com/The Times-Picayune that he was relieved the threat of Tony being taken is gone.

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