Mark Drysdale has responded to a circulating video that subtractors of the Roaring Cat Retreat near Grand Bend are calling animal abuse.
The video shows a trainer interacting with a grown tiger in its cage when it paws at the man, before getting on its hind legs and leaping at him. In response, the trainer kicks the tiger under its chin. The tiger turns away from the man for a brief moment but appears to be unfazed from the exchange.
The co-owner says he hasn’t seen the specific video in question, which we’ve included for you to see at your discretion on our website, but he isn’t concerned about what it shows.
Drysdale says an exchange like this is warranted and called upon by tigers or lions both in the wild and under human care.
He said anyone who feels this exchange was animal abuse is uninformed.
myFM reached out to Professor and Director of the Lion Research Center at the University of Minnesota Dr. Craig Packer to get his thoughts on the video.
“It is the best policy to avoid all direct physical contact, there is no need to go into the enclosure except as a form of self-promotion,” Parker said.
Story by Grant Deme
DISCRETION ADVISED FOR THE VIDEO BELOW
