German police have fatally shot a tiger that escaped from a private enclosure after attacking a keeper. The tiger, believed to be owned by well-known trainer Carmen Zander, injured a 72-year-old man before fleeing its enclosure on the outskirts of Leipzig. Zander, known as Germany’s “Tiger Queen,” keeps a group of big cats at an industrial estate in Dolzig.
The adult male tiger was on the loose for less than 30 minutes before police located and killed it in a nearby garden. The injured man was taken to the hospital for treatment, with the severity of his injuries not yet disclosed. Zander, 52, who was featured in the 2015 documentary Wild Women: Gentle Beasts, was visibly distraught, seen crying on her car roof following her pet’s demise.
The incident has stirred local outrage and reignited discussions on the ethics of keeping dangerous wild animals as pets. Residents expressed concern over the cramped conditions in which the animals were kept, calling the incident “terrible and worrying.” Dolzig mayor Thomas Druskat condemned the situation, urging for the animals to be relocated.
According to animal rights charity PETA, stricter regulations are necessary to safeguard privately-owned animals. PETA had previously sued Zander in an unsuccessful attempt to have the big cats removed from the enclosure. The charity criticized the confinement of the tigers in small, barren cages, stating they were deprived of a species-appropriate life.
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