What to do with 'killer tiger'
Siberian tiger Rostov.
By Bahk Eun-ji
Staffers at Seoul Grand Park zoo are agonizing over what to do with a three-year-old Siberian tiger which attacked and killed a trainer after escaping from an unlocked cage last November.
A 52-year-old man, with the surname Shim, died two weeks after he suffered serious injuries to his neck and spine during the assault which occurred as he attempted to feed the tiger.
One of the options the park is considering is to house the tiger, named Rostov, at a dedicated shelter, which would be completed in May, but there is uncertainty over whether people should be allowed to see the killer big cat.
“As soon as the new shelter is built, Rostov is likely to be moved to the cage which would be larger than the previous one, but we are not sure if we allow visitors in because of negative sentiments about the tiger,” said Lee Dal-ju, the chief director of animal welfare department of Seoul Zoo,
“Right after the accident occurred some people insisted that the tiger be put down. In principle, any beast that attacks people can be shot dead at the scene. But Rostov escaped death because he went back inside the cage.”
The tiger was given to Korea as a gift from Russian president Vladimir Putin in 2011. It has been kept in cages alone since the accident and been kept from meeting with its three cubs and partner tiger Penza.
A number of animal activist groups have expressed concern about the tiger being kept alone.
“The decision whether to open the tiger or not is in the zoo’s hand, but he will get more stressed if it is being kept alone, because it used to live with its partner since it came to the zoo,” said Jeon Kyeong-ok, a leader of Action for Animals.
However, officials at the zoo said, discussions are still underway on how to deal with the tiger.