Tiger Attacks Trainer at Circus in Mexico
A circus tiger attacked its trainer during a performance at the Suárez Brothers Circus (Circo Hermanos Suárez) on Saturday, February 2, 2013, in the city of Etchojoa, Sonora in Mexico.
According to a statement from the police, tiger tamer Alexander Crispin, 35, died after being attacked by the tiger during a circus performance. Crispin died while receiving medical care, as a result of hypovolemic shock.
Mexico’s Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) and the Prosecutor for the Protection of the Environment (PROFEPA) are investigating the incident. PROFEPA has taken the tiger into custody, along with another cat, two llamas and two camels, due to the circus not having the appropriate permits. The animals have been sent to Ostimuri ecological center of Ciudad Obregon.
PROFEPA has said the tiger may be returned to the circus, but tigers are wild animals that should not be in the circus ring; despite being repeatedly beaten by other circus workers, the Bengal tiger continued to attack the trainer, who subsequently died in hospital.
Please contact SEMARNAT’s delegate in Sonora to confirm the tiger will be permanently removed from the circus and placed in a sanctuary.
Rodolfo Flores Hurtado
Delegado Federal de SEMARNAT en Sonora, Mexico
delegado@sonora.semarnat.gob.mx
01 (662) 259-2701
01 (662) 259-2702
Click here to watch video footage of the attack (WARNING: IT IS DISTURBING AND REQUIRES ADULT YOUTUBE SIGN IN)