HOUSTON (CN) – A Texas wildlife lover took her fight to free four white tigers to federal court Tuesday, claiming their cramped quarters at a Houston aquarium and confinement indoors there for 13 years violates the Endangered Species Act.

The four white Bengal tigers — Nero, Marina, Coral, and Reef — were bred in captivity and brought to the Downtown Aquarium in Houston as cubs shortly after it opened in 2003.

The Downtown Aquarium, which occupies 6 acres and has two restaurants and 500,000 gallons of water in its aquariums, is one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions.

Screams from people on its carnival rides mingle with those of children frolicking in its splash pad, which shoots jets of water up from the pavement, and its Ferris wheel stands sentinelAs reported by the The Telegraph:The Met Office knew that Britain was facing an early and exceptionally cold winter but failed to warn the public, hampering preparations for some of the coldest weather on record.

In October the forecaster privately warned the Government – with whom it has a contract – that Britain was likely to face an extremely cold winter.

It kept the prediction secret, however, after facing severe criticism over the accuracy of its long-term forecasts.

The Met Office eventually issued a public warning about the early onset of winter a month later, just days before snow and ice covered much of Britain and temperatures plummeted to the lowest on record.