German police kill tiger believed to have escaped from “Tiger Queen” after it attacked man in enclosure

Police shot and killed an escaped tiger believed to be owned by a woman who describes herself as Germany’s “Tiger Queen” after it attacked a 72-year-old man in its enclosure, according to CBS News’ partner network BBC News.

Police told local German media outlet MDR the man was “authorized” to be in the enclosure, located northwest of Leipzig in eastern Germany. 

The tiger escaped after the attack but was tracked down by armed police to a garden, where it was shot and killed. There was no time to wait for a veterinarian, police told MDR, as the area was busy with people.

The site the animal is believed to have escaped from, in an industrial park in the town of Schkeuditz, is run by Carmen Zander, a former circus tiger trainer, according to MDR. As of last year, Zander did not have an animal welfare permit to keep big cats, according to animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

The tiger was one of eight housed at her enclosure, according to local media. A local rescue center has offered to take the remaining animals, according to MDR.

The BBC cited police as saying an emergency call came in around 12:50 p.m. local time on Sunday, and that officers shot the animal to eliminate any further risk to the public once they found it. 

“A wake-up call”

The incident was a “tragedy waiting to happen,” PETA representative Peter Höffken said in a statement released by the group, adding that PETA had repeatedly told local authorities “how negligently Carmen Zander treats her tigers — including with regard to safety.”

“This has to be a wake-up call,” Höffken said.

PETA told local media in 2025 that Zander’s tigers were “confined in cramped quarters in their permanent enclosure, in barren wire cages, and deprived of everything that would constitute a species-appropriate tiger life.” 

Zander did not immediately respond to a CBS News request for comment.

“The enclosure has to go,” local mayor Thomas Druskat told the Leipziger Volkszeitung news outlet. “It’s unthinkable what might have happened if other people had been injured.”

On Zander’s website, she offers people the chance to book an “exclusive tiger petting event” and describes the animals as “tiger mice.”

“I will fulfill your lifelong dream!!!” reads the website. “Touch my beautiful Bengal tigers … you are standing right next to my 250kg [550lb] powerhouses. You will be speechless!!!”