German police shoot tiger linked to "Tiger Queen" after it attacks man
Police killed an escaped tiger, reportedly owned by a woman who calls herself Germany's "Tiger Queen," after it attacked a 72-year-old man in its enclosure.
The site the animal is believed to have escaped from, in an industrial park in the town of Schkeuditz, is run by Carmen Zander, a former circus tiger trainer, according to MDR. As of last year, Zander did not have an animal welfare permit to keep big cats, according to animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), News.Az reports, citing CBS news.
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The tiger was one of eight housed at her enclosure, according to local media. A local rescue center has offered to take the remaining animals, according to MDR.
The BBC cited police as saying an emergency call came in around 12:50 p.m. local time on Sunday, and that officers shot the animal to eliminate any further risk to the public once they found it.
"A wake-up call"
The incident was a "tragedy waiting to happen," PETA representative Peter Höffken said in a statement released by the group, adding that PETA had repeatedly told local authorities "how negligently Carmen Zander treats her tigers — including with regard to safety."
"This has to be a wake-up call," Höffken said.
PETA told local media in 2025 that Zander's tigers were "confined in cramped quarters in their permanent enclosure, in barren wire cages, and deprived of everything that would constitute a species-appropriate tiger life."
Zander did not immediately respond to a CBS News request for comment.
"The enclosure has to go," local mayor Thomas Druskat told the Leipziger Volkszeitung news outlet. "It's unthinkable what might have happened if other people had been injured."
On Zander's website, she offers people the chance to book an "exclusive tiger petting event" and describes the animals as "tiger mice."
"I will fulfill your lifelong dream!!!" reads the website. "Touch my beautiful Bengal tigers … you are standing right next to my 250kg [550lb] powerhouses. You will be speechless!!!"
By Ulviyya Salmanli
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