100 MILE HOUSE, British Columbia – A 32 year-old woman was mauled to death by a captive tiger owned by her boyfriend in western Canada, authorities and media reports said.
Regional coroner Bruce Chamberlayne said the woman was taken to a hospital after the attack Thursday afternoon but could not be revived.
Police responded to an emergency call at a farm that houses exotic animals. When they arrived all the animals were in their cages and family members were giving assistance to the woman.
The farm in the interior of British Columbia is called Siberian Magic, owned by Kim Carlton. His business puts on exotic and magic shows and offers services such as photos with the big cats.
Police did not release the name of the woman but said she and the farm's owner knew each other. Global TV reported the victim was the girlfriend of the tiger's owner, Carlton.
Police said all the animals remained secured on the premises, about 250 miles (400 kilometers) northeast of Vancouver. Among the animals at the farm are three tigers, a lion and a lemur.
The woman was found outside the tiger's cage, with wounds from the waist down. Global TV reported that the woman may have been outside the cage when the tiger swatted her, knocked her down and dragged her part way into the cage.
Marcie Moriarty of the SPCA told Global that when the SPCA last visited Carlton he had three tigers.
"We executed a warrant with a vet who is an expert in exotic animals and at that point we had done everything to try and seize those animals and place them in a different facility," she said.
A vet had determined that some of these animals' living conditions were putting them in distress and the SPCA wanted to move in, but Moriarty said they had not found anywhere suitable to place them.
Chamberlayne did not release the woman's name pending notification of family members. He said it was unclear what happened to the animal.
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