Resident Criticizes Response After Yorkshire Wildlife Park Tiger Death

A resident near Yorkshire Wildlife Park has criticized public reactions after a man was killed by a tiger at the Doncaster attraction, where investigations continue following the incident. Emergency services were called shortly after 1.30pm on October 10 when the man entered the enclosure.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene, according to South Yorkshire Police, which said his family had been informed. The park remained closed on Monday as authorities investigated the incident.

Angela Seivewright, who lives near the wildlife park and visited the entrance to lay flowers, said she was concerned by reports that the victim may have had additional needs.

"I believe that the person who was killed had additional needs. And, when I looked at social media over the weekend, when I said I hoped the person was OK, I got really bullied a lot – saying that he deserved to die." said Angela Seivewright.

Seivewright said she had previously seen adults with special needs at the park with carers and questioned whether enough safeguards were in place for vulnerable visitors.

"I have a special needs child and I think he was doing sign language to the tiger. So, it just felt it was really unfair that people were almost wishing him to die as opposed to not wanting anybody to be hurt. So it was really upsetting.

My daughter goes to school next door and we live around the corner. And I just thought there would be way more flowers here." said Angela Seivewright.

Seivewright said she had a season ticket to the attraction but was uncertain about continuing to support it after the incident.

"I don’t know if I would support them again. I just don’t know if they took every opportunity to save him, his life, as opposed to maybe doing something to the tiger. I think it’s a bit of an indictment on the community in terms that people seem to care more about the tiger. It just feels a bit sad that his death is not mourned more." said Angela Seivewright.

She also raised concerns about measures for visitors who may need additional support around dangerous animals.

"It just seems that making additional needs a priority – it’s a bit of a tick-box exercise. What mitigations did they have in place if they saw somebody with additional needs on their own near a dangerous animal?" said Angela Seivewright.

Seivewright said she supported animal welfare but believed the human impact of the death should remain central to the response.

"Without wishing things bad on the tiger, in my mind, a human is a sentient being. I love cats. I’ve got five of them.

And I love animals. But I would have thought people would have been more compassionate with somebody dying in such an awful way who lacks capacity and who is vulnerable." said Angela Seivewright.

Local representatives also responded as the investigation continued. Councillor Steve Cox, who represents the Finningley ward covering the wildlife park, said staff were following required procedures.

"I really feel for the staff, they’ve got protocols they have to go through. It’s really sad, but I’m sure everybody did what they could." said Councillor Steve Cox.

Doncaster deputy civic mayor Councillor Nick Allen, who represents a nearby ward, said details of the incident were still unclear and online speculation was harmful.

Yorkshire Wildlife Park said Altai, the Amur tiger involved in the incident, was safe and would not be euthanized. The park said staff members were deeply affected and receiving specialist support.

The attraction opened in 2009, with its Land of the Tigers area opening in 2011. The reserve covers two acres and houses Amur tigers, an endangered subspecies with around 500 remaining in the wild.