Andy Burnham's government has issued a statement after US president Donald Trump shared footage of the tiger attack at Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster. William Chapman, 23, died after entering the tiger enclosure on Saturday (October 10).
Family tribute and criticism of online reaction
Mr Chapman's family shared a tribute on Tuesday evening describing him as a “bright, warm and engaging young man”. They criticised the online reaction to his death and questioned what part his “significant mental illness over a number of years” and prescribed strong medication played in the incident.
Moments before the incident, Mr Chapman allegedly recorded a video of himself walking over to the tiger in the enclosure, which was shared on a now-deleted Instagram page. After he entered the enclosure, the Amur tiger named Altai attacked him, resulting in injuries that led to his death.
Trump's social media posts
Video footage of the attack has been shared widely online. Mr Trump shared a short clip on his Truth Social platform, which showed the animal biting and clawing Mr Chapman as he sat in the enclosure, but not him being killed. The clip was shared with the signed message: “Don’t ever mess with nature!”
On Wednesday morning, Mr Trump followed this up with another post – an AI-generated video of him grappling with a tiger, which appears to mimic the original. The clip, accompanied by the Tight Fit song The Lion Sleeps Tonight, features the president copying the pointing gesture made by Mr Chapman and ends with him hugging the animal.
Downing Street response
Downing Street said people should respect the views of Mr Chapman's family but would not directly comment on Donald Trump posting the videos online. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: “I think obviously the family have made their position clear. Of course, we respect that position.”
He added: “I’m not going to comment on the president’s social media channels, he’s got a press secretary who can speak to that.”
Family statement and inquest
In their statement, the family said: “The family are utterly devastated by their loss and are struggling to come to terms with what has happened. The publication and circulation of deeply offensive media content is causing them severe distress at an exceptionally vulnerable time. We ask people to stop doing this.”
They added: “The family are hopeful that the relevant authorities will do their upmost to get to the bottom of why our amazing son did what he did.”
The statement continued: “William was a bright, warm and engaging young man whom his family dearly loved – and William loved them back. Sadly, William suffered from significant mental illness over a number of years and was consequently prescribed strong medication. It will be for the coroner to decide what part this played in his death. We would ask everybody to respect that process.”
An inquest is due to open into the death at Doncaster Coroner's Court on Thursday morning.
