10/12/2001

Austin -- The owner of a pet tiger that dragged a Central Texas toddler to death had kept the animal although his federal breeding permit expired in July.

The 7-year-old, 250-pound tiger was bottle-fed as a cub and docile around small dogs. But when its owner, Kerry Quinney, took his 3-year-old step-grandson near the animal for a picture on Wednesday, the tiger grabbed the boy by the foot and ran away.

Matthew Scott struck his head on several objects before Quinney was able to beat the tiger into releasing the child. The boy was flown from the Lee County home to an Austin hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Lee County enacted a ban on keeping wild animals in 1997. Quinney was allowed to keep three pet tigers because he had a permit from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Austin American-Statesman reports Quinney's permit to breed his tigers expired in July and had not been renewed.

No criminal charges had been filed.

(Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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