At approximately 6pm on Friday, a female tiger aged 18 months escaped from a Paris zoo. She was shot dead on the streets of Paris by her owner, after roaming free. What happened?

Shot dead in public

The wild cat escaped from the Bormann-Moreno circus on 24th Novermber. Police were alerted by members of the public who saw the animal roaming around the streets of the capital.

One of the circus owners, Eric Bormann, tracked the 200kg tiger and killed her himself, in an ally the heart of Paris’ 15th arrondissement. Bormann is also the lion tamer and ringmaster of the circus. The tiger, named Mevy, was 18 months old.

The Bormann-Moreno circus, who have nine tigers in their show, has only recently set-up in Paris and was planning to open its doors 3rd December.

The circus files a complaint

The tiger’s owner was taken into custody for questioning and released after a few hours.

The circus reportedly wishes to press charges against person unknown, with speculation that the cage was tampered with. The circus issued a statement on social media, saying that the tiger had been moved to the usual secure area while her cage was being cleaned. It was at this moment that Bormann saw one of the doors was wide-open.

An investigation will also be undertaken to confirm if all necessary regulations were respected with regard to securing the animal in the first place. The law also indicates that animals should be captured alive if possible.


According to a status published on Facebook, the circus say Bormann abandoned the idea of using sedatives on the animal due to the time taken for these to come into effect and the danger to public security.

Wild animals in circuses

A journalist from Paris-based daily newspaper Libération newspaper had posted a photo of the circus' tigers on twitter several days before the event. She expressed her outrage at there felines being kept in "3 meter square" cages.


Many European countries have banned the use of wild animals in circuses, however countries such as France and the UK are yet to follow suit. French law allows the use of certain wild animals in circuses, including; wild cats, female elephants and sea lions.

Animals right groups have condemned the events, calling on the government to end the use of wild animals in circuses.

Recommended read: Italy has become the 14th country to ban the use of circus animals

(Main image for illustrative purposes only)

What do you think about wild animals in circuses?

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