Attack by tiger fuels heated debate

Surveillance video of a fatal tiger attack in Beijing has triggered heated discussion on whether zoos should be held responsible if visitors ignore safety reminders.

Saturday's tragedy occurred at Badaling Wildlife World, near the Great Wall in Yanqing district.

Footage released by China Central Television showed a woman being attacked and dragged away by a Siberian tiger after stepping out of a car. Aman and an elderly woman, reportedly the woman's husband and mother, rushed from the car and tried to help her.

The mother was killed at the scene and her daughter was severely injured. The husband was not hurt.

In an opinion poll conducted by Sina, one of China's leading website portals, by 6 pm on Monday about 95 percent of respondents said the responsibility lay with visitors, who were told not to leave their vehicles.

The park has been suspended from business, as the tiger is still being kept there. The case is being investigated by Beijing police.

No reason has been given for why the woman suddenly left the car.

Wang Shuqin, a spokesman for Yanqing Bureau of Landscape and Forestry, told Beijing News that a patrol car crew had warned the woman before she stepped out of the car. But she ignored the safety reminder.

The park allows visitors to drive there if they sign an agreement to keep to the speed limit, lock all windows and doors, and not feed the animals. The admission price includes insurance, but only for cars, in case animals cause damage to vehicles.

In similar cases zoos have been ordered to compensate injured visitors.

In 2014, a 9-year-old boy was injured by a black bear after putting his hands into the animal's cage in Henan province. The zoo was told to pay compensation of more than 30,000 yuan ($4,490).

Liu Lin, a lawyer at Beijing Shuangli Law Firm, said, "Despite the fact the park said there is an agreement that exempts it from taking responsibility, we cannot say whether the agreement is legitimate before we see it. In this case, the woman was fully aware of the risk and should be responsible."

Hu Chunmei, an animal rights activist at Nature University, said some administrative flaws must be involved, as similar incidents had occurred previously.

suzhou@chinadaily.com.cn