Authorities: Tiger husbandry violates minimum requirements

The private tiger enclosure near Leipzig, from which an animal escaped and was shot on Sunday, does not meet the requirements according to the authorities. The keeper had been ordered to change this in the past, according to the responsible district office in North Saxony.

After the death of the tiger, eight animals are still living in the facility. It remains to be seen what will happen to them after the outbreak. "The district office has not yet received any results from the investigation into the cause of the incident. Without this information, the question cannot be answered," explained the district office.

On Sunday afternoon, an adult male tiger escaped from the facility in an industrial estate in Dölzig near the Autobahn 9. A 72-year-old man was seriously injured. The police shot the tiger in the area of an allotment garden. The tigers belong to a former circus performer.

What rules apply to keeping tigers?

According to the Animal Welfare Act, every animal must be housed "appropriately for its species and needs". However, the law does not specify what this means for big cats in general and tigers in particular.

The authorities therefore refer to the so-called mammal report of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture when assessing private animal husbandry. This states that for tigers, an outdoor enclosure of at least 200 square meters must be available for one or two animals. For each additional adult animal, there must be 100 square meters more.

However, the report also states that animal experts make even more far-reaching recommendations. "The question of biologically appropriate minimum enclosure sizes for individual animal species is always controversial when drawing up husbandry standards." The size of an enclosure has a significant influence on the normal behavior and well-being of an animal.

According to the district office, the private keeping of big cats must also comply with species protection regulations arising from nature conservation law.