A tiger was shot dead in a German garden after escaping from its owner, dubbed ‘Tiger Queen’, and seriously injuring a pensioner.
Local police said today that they fatally shot the predator that had fled a privately-run enclosure in the eastern city of Leipzig following the attack on Sunday.
A police spokesman said that the animal had seriously injured one person, who was being treated in hospital.
The big cat was one of 10 belonging to Carmen Zander, nicknamed the Tiger Queen, living on an industrial site in the town of Schkeuditz.
An elderly helper working in the enclosure was attacked before the animal escaped and was ‘killed by police using firearms’.
Armed police had been deployed to shoot the tiger half an hour after the attack in a garden 300m away.
The police spokesperson added that an emergency services helicopter was used during the search for the animal.
Authorities confirmed no other tigers escaped and insisted there was no further danger to the public.
The big cat was one of 10 belonging to Carmen Zander, nicknamed the Tiger Queen, living on an industrial site in the town of Schkeuditz
‘There is no longer any danger to the public,’ said the police spokeswoman.
Following the incident, Ms Zander, 52, was seen crying on the roof of her car ‘visibly shocked’ by the death of her wild pet, according to German newspaper Bild.
Ms Zander has faced criticism in the past for the conditions in which the animals were kept at her enclosure.
She has reportedly not been booked for circuses since 2022 as wild animal shows dipped out of fashion amid concerns for animal welfare.
Animal rights organisation PETA charged that local veterinary authorities ‘share responsibility for this tragic incident’ by failing to act against Ms Zander sooner.
The organisation demanded that the remaining nine animals at the enclosure be confiscated.
‘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,’ PETA’s circus spokesperson said last year.
Authorities have demanded she provide larger, zoo-like conditions, but she has been unable to meet the requirements on the limited land available.
Just five tigers would require around 500 square metres, far more than the current space.
Earlier this year, six tiger cubs were also born, which Zander described as ‘accidents’.
Ms Zander previously admitted in court that she hosted banned private tiger shows to fund the tigers’ feeding, which cost over £872 a month.
On the entertainer’s website, the tiger owner is seen cuddling and bottle-feeding her animals, while offering customers the opportunity to stroke the predators, which is illegal under German animal protection laws.
Ms Zander has denied any mistreatment of her tigers, but local officials are now demanding urgent action.
Mayor Rayk Bergner said: ‘The tigers have to go. With three exclamation marks. A solution is urgently needed now; the authorities must clarify this.’
District mayor Thomas Druskat also warned of the potential for even greater tragedy, calling the situation ‘unthinkable’ if more people had been harmed.
Police are now investigating how the tiger managed to escape, with criminal proceedings not ruled out.
