A woman who lives near the wildlife park where a man was killed by a tiger has said she was concerned over reports the victim may have had additional needs and that people “seemed to care more about the tiger”.
Angela Seivewright went to lay flowers at the gate of Yorkshire Wildlife Park, which remained closed on Monday after the fatal incident over the weekend.
She said she had previously seen adults with special needs in the park with carers who appeared to be “a bit distracted” and felt “sad” at much of the reaction to the man’s death.
Ms Seivewright said: “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.”
“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.”
Flowers left at the entrance of Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster, where a man died after suffering serious injuries in a tiger enclosure (Dave Higgens/PA)
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Ms Seivewright said she had a season ticket to the park, but added: “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.”
Ms Seivewright said: “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 his own near a dangerous animal?”
“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.”
A sign at the entrance to Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster (Annabel Lee-Ellis/PA)
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The Doncaster attraction remained closed on Monday as investigations continue into the death of the man, who was attacked by a tiger when he entered its enclosure on Saturday.
Councillor Steve Cox, who represents the Finningley ward covering the wildlife park, told the Press Association: “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.”
Doncaster’s deputy civic mayor Councillor Nick Allen, who represents a nearby ward, said: “We don’t know all the circumstances yet and the speculation online is obviously upsetting and unneeded.”
He said he had been “really shocked about the tragic incident”.
Emergency services were contacted shortly after 1.30pm on October 10 when the man entered the enclosure.
He was pronounced dead at the scene, South Yorkshire Police said, adding that his family have been informed.
It was understood the wildlife park would reopen on Monday after it was evacuated following the incident and remained closed on Sunday.
But in a message sent to ticketholders on Monday morning, the park said: “Due to the serious incident that occurred at Yorkshire Wildlife Park on Saturday, the 10th of October, unfortunately the park remains closed for the whole of Monday, the 12th October.
“Anyone with a booking for this date will be contacted within the next five working days with details of how to reschedule your booking.
“We apologise for the late notice and any inconvenience caused.”
Tickets for Monday admission were still on sale for morning entry at 7.30am – first at the standard price of £28.99 but later moving to the premium rate of £32.49.
Some of the afternoon sessions appeared to be sold out.
In a previous statement on social media, the wildlife park said “many, many people” had contacted them about Altai, the Amur tiger involved in the incident, and it confirmed he is “safe and well” and will not be euthanised.
It added that members of park staff were “deeply affected” by the incident and receiving specialist support.
Videos circulating online appear to show a man being pawed at and grappled by Altai in the tiger enclosure at the park.
In another, it appears the voice of the as-yet-unidentified man can be heard asking people to take a photo of him with the tiger before the incident took place.
South Yorkshire Police said it is aware of the footage of the attack online and asked people not to share it.
Yorkshire Wildlife Park opened in 2009, with the Land of the Tigers attraction opening in 2011.
The attraction is a purpose-built, two-acre reserve for Amur tigers, an endangered subspecies with around 500 left in the wild.
Photos of the enclosure on the park’s website show a high walkway for visitors and fencing above the section where the tigers can roam.