British_expert_sought_after_Tiger_savages

Animal Attack Files

British wildlife expert sought after
Thai tiger savages boy

BY ANDREW DRUMMOND

A BRITISH wildlife expert is being sought by police in
Thailand after a boy aged five had his arm ripped off by a
tiger that had been adopted by animal lovers in Britain.

Police in Chachoengsao, east of Bangkok, said that
Timothy Redford, a representative of the charity Care for
the Wild International, was wanted on a charge of
negligence. The charity insisted that Mr Redford, a former
safari park keeper, had no responsibility for the
management of the tigers.

The police have also ordered the closure of the compound,
promoted in Care for the Wild fundraising literature as
Tiger Mountain 2. The tiger, called Max, is one of two
animals that been used in advertisements to raise money to
help to save tigers from extinction.

Police have already arrested a Thai businessman and a
young boy keeper, who have been jointly feeding the tigers,
and released them on bail of the equivalent of £600 each.
The police said that all parties responsible for the tigers
would have to pay compensation to the boy for his injuries.

Care for the Wild International first started raising funds for
the two tigers in 1995, asking the public to adopt them by
sending a cheque for £14.95 each - £10 of which would go
directly to tiger welfare. An advertisement in the magazine
BBC Wildlife said: "Sheba [the other tiger] was only a few
days old when she was found close to the rotting and
dismembered carcass of its mother ... the Tiger Adoption
Programme provides Sheba with food, shelter and
attendants to watch over her as well as financing the
rescue of any other unfortunate orphans."

Chris Jordan, managing director of Care for the Wild, said
yesterday that the charity had no jurisdiction over the tigers.
"Responsibility rests with the landowner and the Royal
Forestry Department of Thailand." Mr Redford had acted
as a consultant to the charity.

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