Group Protests Tiger Slaying

Members of an animal rights group said they will file a complaint with a federal agency today to protest the shooting of a Sumatran tiger at the San Diego Wild Animal Park in what park officials said was a foiled escape attempt.

Sally Meckler, director of San Diego Animal Advocates, said the group will file the complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees enforcement of the federal animal welfare act.

Meckler called the shooting, which occurred during a rainstorm Saturday, “a tragedy that could have been prevented.”

However, park spokesman Tom Hanscom defended the killing of the 3-year-old tiger, which was born at the park. Hanscom said the tiger was named Bali, weighed 300 pounds and measured 4 1/2 feet long. It was one of six Sumatran tigers on exhibit at the park.

“These individuals know nothing about our facility and procedures. They’re using this tragedy to further their own cause. It’s the circling-vulture syndrome. We don’t rear tigers to exterminate them later,” Hanscom said.

He said the park received 1.48 inches of rain Saturday and that the water caused considerable damage and undermined several fences.

At one point during the storm, Hanscom said, flash flooding hit the tiger exhibit, eroding the ground under a protective fence. Bali was able to squeeze underneath, and a security guard on routine patrol spotted him roaming a back area of the park at 6:10 p.m., after the park was closed to the public, Hanscom said.

Members of the administrative staff, including the on-duty veterinarian, were summoned, and high-powered rifles were issued to two park security guards. Although the park was being pelted by driving rain, Hanscom said, the veterinarian arrived at the park hospital shortly after 6:15 p.m. and loaded a tranquilizer gun.

Thirty minutes later, the veterinarian arrived at the site where Bali was hiding in chaparral bush, and the vet attempted to flush out the tiger. However, at about 7:45 p.m., the tiger bolted out of the bush, running toward a 6-foot fence that surrounds the park.

“That was the final barrier between the tiger and open space. At that moment, the security guards opened fire, shot and killed the tiger,” Hanscom said.

He said the veterinarian could not use the tranquilizer gun against the tiger because “you cannot successfully dart a moving animal.”

“The animal has to be stationary. If the animal is moving crossways, the dart will be deflected. You have to hit the animal in a particular muscle area. If you hit it in the stomach or chest, you will most likely kill the animal, because the needle is 2 inches long,” Hanscom said.

In addition, Hanscom said, it would have taken between 15 and 20 minutes for the anesthesia to take effect. Park officials could not chance the possibility of anesthetizing the tiger, only to have it escape and fall asleep in a brushy area where it could not be found.

He said Bali was killed by two bullets, including one that struck the tiger in the head.

Meckler said park officials should have foreseen the possibility that water could undermine the security fence around the tiger exhibit.

“I think it’s a real tragedy something as basic as a secure fence line is not being seen to by management,” said Meckler. “But I can’t say I’m surprised. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen animals lose their lives because of poorly designed enclosures at the park.”

“I can’t fault them enough for their negligence over the fence line. The situation should have never progressed to that degree. It was a tragedy that could have been prevented,” she added.

Hanscom said that “it’s not possible” for park officials to foresee every eventuality.

“The exhibit where the cat was kept has been in place for 19 years . . . . In 19 years, under more severe storm conditions, we didn’t experience such a washout,” Hanscom said.