NSPCA questions circumstances around tiger shooting
The National SPCA is questioning how a tiger escaped from its enclosure and zoo boundaries near Pietermaritzburg earlier this week.
The animal, which had been kept at the Natal Zoological Gardens, owned by Brian Boswell of the Brian Boswell Circus, was put down on Thursday.
Boswell said at the time they had to shoot the tiger as it wouldn't have been safe to tranquillize it.
In a statement released yesterday, the NSPCA asked if there was any negligence involved or if it was a case of inadequate facilities.
Also read: Escaped tiger's killing sparks outrage.
The organisation has reiterated its call for wild animals not to be kept in captivity. An activist with Animals Africa, Miranda Jordan, says a wild animal cannot be domesticated like a pet.
"A domesticated dog or cat is completely different to a wild animal and there is completely different behaviour. And obviously wild animals are used to an open environment. A closed environment is completely unfamiliar," she said.
Authorities are investigating the incident.
(Photo: Getty Images)