Zoo-keeper mauled to death by tiger was 'doing dream job and would not want animal killed'
By Jeremy Armstrong
Sarah McClay, 24, was killed by a Sumatran tiger in its
enclosure at South Lakes Wild Animal Park in Dalton-in-Furness,
Cumbria
Sarah McClay
A zoo-keeper mauled to death by a tiger lost her life 'doing her
dream job' - and would not want the big cat destroyed, her mum said
today. Sarah McClay, 24, was killed by a Sumatran tiger in its enclosure at South Lakes Wild Animal Park in Dalton-in-Furness, Cumbria.
The
animal lover was dragged by the big cat, called Padang, and died from
"multiple" injuries, including deep wounds to her neck, back, chest,
arms and left foot. The beast attacked with such force that
Sarah's spine was fractured, her ribs shattered, with one of the
"unsurvivable" injuries exposing the spinal cord. Her mum Fiona told her inquest heard today how her daughter was captivated by the animal park during a visit there as a child.
During
a safety inspection in the hours after the attack, a "defective" bolt
was found on a gate in the Tiger House which kept the big cats
apart from their keepers.
Andy Commins / Daily Mirror
Sarah McClay's mother Fiona McClay
The jury was not told whether it had played a role in the tragedy on May 24, 2013.
Fiona
said:
"She was an animal carer at the park for three years. She talked
about it constantly, it was her dream job, ever since she had visited
there as a young child. She was interested in the animal world
of Great Britain, in their natural habitats, birds and creatures in
hedgerows perhaps rather than animals of the world. She had no
particular affinity for the big cats but spoke about working with them,
and she felt it was a privilege. She stressed her daughter was "a
meticulous person in the extreme" in everything that she did. She
would never just do a job, she would always want to do it that
little better. That was true of her school work and
her later life. She was always on time or before time and would always
stay on late in any situation if that is what was required. "
Andy Commins / Daily Mirror
A scale model of the tiger enclosure where the incident happened
"She was never critical of anybody, and enjoyed doing what she
was doing." When asked about calls for the tiger to be destroyed after
the tragedy, Fiona added, "That is absolutely 100 per cent not what Sarah would have wanted. She would not have blamed the tiger for what happened."
Owen Broadhead, Barrow Council senior environmental health officer, visited the park in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy. He
showed the jury a video filmed inside the Tiger House
shortly afterwards, and a scale model of the enclosure including three
sliding metal gates used to secure two Sumatran tigers - including
Padang - an Amur tiger, and two Jaguar big cats.
During his
inspection just hours after Sarah's death, he found a "defective" bolt
on one of the gates, which had not been repaired when he made a repeat
visit the following week. He added: "The bolt was still defective. Because the bolt could not be held back, it would bang against the door frame.
and
left a gap of about 20-25 millimetres. If the bolt had been working
properly, it would be held back and close tightly to the frame.
The
jury was shown a "keepers' corridor' on the scale model of
the enclosure where staff worked while the big cats were in their
quarters. South Cumbria coroner Ian Smith told the six women and
four men on the jury that the hearing was "extremely unusual, and may be
distressing" due to the nature of the attack. But he assured
them they would not be expected to view "extremely graphic or gory"
photos during the course of the inquest, expected to last five days.
The jury visit the animal park tomorrow to view the scene of the tragedy.
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