German police shot and killed a tiger that attacked a keeper and escaped from a private enclosure on the outskirts of Leipzig, authorities said Sunday.
Incident details
The tiger, believed to belong to renowned trainer Carmen Zander, known as Germany's "Tiger Queen," injured a 72-year-old man before fleeing its enclosure at an industrial estate in Dolzig. The animal was on the loose for less than 30 minutes before being shot dead by police in a nearby garden, according to Bild.
The injured man was taken to hospital, but the extent of his injuries remains unknown.
Trainer's reaction
Ms Zander, 52, who was featured in the 2015 documentary Wild Women: Gentle Beasts, was seen crying on the roof of her car, "visibly shocked" after her pet's death, Bild reported. No other animals escaped.
Community and legal response
The incident has sparked outrage and renewed debate over keeping dangerous wild animals as pets. Residents told DPA news agency the conditions were "far too cramped." Ms Zander denied mistreatment.
Dolzig mayor Thomas Druskat condemned the incident, telling Leipziger Volkszeitung: "The enclosure has to go. It is unthinkable what might have happened if other people had been injured."
Animal rights charity PETA called for stricter regulations, noting they had unsuccessfully sued Ms Zander last year to remove the big cats. A PETA spokesperson said: "The tigers are confined in the smallest possible space in their home territory, in barren wire cages and deprived of everything that would constitute a species-appropriate tiger life."
