Tiger shot dead in Paris after escaping from circus
A tiger that escaped from a circus in Paris on
Friday was shot dead by the owner, who was then taken into custody, police said.
Firefighters were called shortly before 1700 GMT by people who saw the 200-kilogramme (440-pound) animal wandering around the 15th arrondissement in the southwest of the French capital near the office of France Televisions.
As the story spread on social media, Paris's transport authority briefly suspended traffic on a tram line in the area, which resumed with police authorisation.
Paris : comment un tigre s'est échappé d'un cirque avant d'être abattu https://t.co/S2A2VTc61J pic.twitter.com/tWePexrvJQ
— franceinfo (@franceinfo) November 24, 2017
Images posted online showed the tiger lying on the ground, bleeding heavily from what appear to be gunshot wounds. Several individuals, presumed to be circus staff surround it and shine torches on the body.
#Tigre: le félin est venu se réfugier au bout de cette allée avant d’être abattu par balles par son propriétaire. Enquête ouverte. @BFMParis pic.twitter.com/VVUOmQc6rn
— Raphaël MAILLOCHON (@Raph_journalist) November 24, 2017
Le tigre qui s’est échappé d’un cirque du 15è arr a été abattu. Il est encore au fond de cette allée. Police et pompiers sur place. pic.twitter.com/OEQi2nGGHf
— Raphaël MAILLOCHON (@Raph_journalist) November 24, 2017
After the incident Paris police wrote on Twitter that the risk had passed.
The tiger escaped from the Cirque Bormann-Moreno, which had just moved to the area and planned to open its doors to the public on December 3.
"The owner was in shock. When we arrived the 200-kilogramme tiger was already dead," Valerian Fuet, a spokesman for the firefighters, told AFP.
Omg if I hadn't gone to uni early I probably would have crossed paths with the tiger on the loose, it was literally on my commute two tram stops from where I live #RIP #tigre
— Lucy HL (@LucyHLovett) November 24, 2017
The animal was shot in an alley, he said, "it was not in the street, there were no passers-by".
The owner was taken into custody after the event, according to a police source. A police investigation has been opened into the incident.
Fuet said the body must be either taken back to the circus or to a clinic for an autopsy.
The Brigitte Bardot Foundation, founded by the former screen idol turned animal rights activist, expressed horror and called on Ecology Minister Nicolas Hulot to ban the use of animals in circuses.
"It's a miracle that there weren't any human victims this time," the group said in a statement.
"We must react immediately and ban this exploitation of wild animals reduced to slavery".
Fuet said the tiger's body must be either taken back to the circus or to a clinic for an autopsy.
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Firefighters were called shortly before 1700 GMT by people who saw the 200-kilogramme (440-pound) animal wandering around the 15th arrondissement in the southwest of the French capital near the office of France Televisions.
As the story spread on social media, Paris's transport authority briefly suspended traffic on a tram line in the area, which resumed with police authorisation.
Paris : comment un tigre s'est échappé d'un cirque avant d'être abattu https://t.co/S2A2VTc61J pic.twitter.com/tWePexrvJQ
— franceinfo (@franceinfo) November 24, 2017
Images posted online showed the tiger lying on the ground, bleeding heavily from what appear to be gunshot wounds. Several individuals, presumed to be circus staff surround it and shine torches on the body.
#Tigre: le félin est venu se réfugier au bout de cette allée avant d’être abattu par balles par son propriétaire. Enquête ouverte. @BFMParis pic.twitter.com/VVUOmQc6rn
— Raphaël MAILLOCHON (@Raph_journalist) November 24, 2017
Le tigre qui s’est échappé d’un cirque du 15è arr a été abattu. Il est encore au fond de cette allée. Police et pompiers sur place. pic.twitter.com/OEQi2nGGHf
— Raphaël MAILLOCHON (@Raph_journalist) November 24, 2017
After the incident Paris police wrote on Twitter that the risk had passed.
The tiger escaped from the Cirque Bormann-Moreno, which had just moved to the area and planned to open its doors to the public on December 3.
"The owner was in shock. When we arrived the 200-kilogramme tiger was already dead," Valerian Fuet, a spokesman for the firefighters, told AFP.
Omg if I hadn't gone to uni early I probably would have crossed paths with the tiger on the loose, it was literally on my commute two tram stops from where I live #RIP #tigre
— Lucy HL (@LucyHLovett) November 24, 2017
The animal was shot in an alley, he said, "it was not in the street, there were no passers-by".
The owner was taken into custody after the event, according to a police source. A police investigation has been opened into the incident.
Fuet said the body must be either taken back to the circus or to a clinic for an autopsy.
The Brigitte Bardot Foundation, founded by the former screen idol turned animal rights activist, expressed horror and called on Ecology Minister Nicolas Hulot to ban the use of animals in circuses.
"It's a miracle that there weren't any human victims this time," the group said in a statement.
"We must react immediately and ban this exploitation of wild animals reduced to slavery".
Fuet said the tiger's body must be either taken back to the circus or to a clinic for an autopsy.
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