UPDATE: Florida Man Who Stuck Arm in Tiger Enclosure will NOT face charges

​www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/man-attacked-tiger-putting-arm-enclosure-florida-zoo-wont-charged-rcna15005

A few weeks back, I reported on a story from a Florida zoo where a man was attacked by a tiger after sticking his arm in the tiger's enclosure. His actions resulted in an officer having to euthanize the tiger after attempts to distract / startle it failed, leaving the officer no choice but to kill the tiger to save the man's life. The story garnered significant attention and calls for the man to be charged in the death of the tiger. Unfortunately, it appears that the man will NOT be charged despite the wishes of the officer and support from activists.

All of the facts of this case pointed to charges being laid. First of all, this man was hired as a cleaner and had no authority to be near the enclosures. He put himself there intentionally, strike number one. Secondly, he intentionally stuck his arm in to the enclosure where the tiger was being held, endangering himself and the tiger at the same time, strike two. Lastly, his actions directly resulted in the tiger attacking him which led to it being euthanized to save the man's life, strike three. This man was wholly responsible for his actions and the death of the tiger.

Unfortunately, the man escaped charges after it was determined that there were no existing criminal laws that pertained to this situation. What does that mean? Essentially, there was no law that was applicable to being broken in this case despite all of the blatantly negligent actions of the cleaner and the resulting death of the endangered tiger. 

“I am frustrated and even angered that there is no existing criminal law that applies in this tragic situation that resulted in the untimely death of a rare and endangered tiger,” he said in a statement.
--Sheriff Kevin Rambosk

This story is incredibly frustrating and indicates a need for change within the criminal law system. How can there be absolutely no law applicable to illegally entering an enclosure, endangering the life of an endangered species, and being directly responsible for its death? What's stopping the next arsehole from antagonizing a lion or a tiger, getting attacked, and getting an animal killed? This story further proves that zoos are simply not safe for animals because if they were, this incident would never have occurred. How are we able to jump in to enclosures with gorillas or access lion or tiger enclosures despite not having authority to do so? It's clear that the zoo also holds some responsibility in the death of this tiger.

It's incredibly frustrating that this tiger's life essentially meant nothing in the eye's of the law. An innocent animal that has already been forced to live in captivity for human entertainment was ultimately shot and killed because of humans. At the very least, I'm sure the man learned a valuable lesson about big cats and won't make a mistake like that again, but that's not justice in my opinion.

HAPPY VEG