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FWC CHAIRMAN: OFFICER PREVENTED TRAGEDY
July 15, 2004
Contact: Henry Cabbage (850) 488-8843
Chairman Rodney Barreto of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) said today he stands firmly behind the FWC officer who, on Tuesday, fatally wounded an escaped 600-pound tiger.
Barreto said, In this situation an officers highest priority is to protect human life, including his own, and thats what the FWC officer did.
FWC officials said they had hoped to rescue the tiger unharmed, but that was impossible when the situation abruptly turned extremely dangerous.
Our officer was face to face with a instinct-driven predator that hadnt eaten in at least 26 hours and was on the run, Barreto said. The tiger, which has a history of attacking a human, pinned its ears back, bared its teeth and lunged at the officer. When a tiger does that, chances are its going to kill you, and you have a fraction of a second to react.
Barreto said he understands and sympathizes with those who mourn the cats death.
But because of what our officer did, we are not mourning the loss of any local residents or responding officers today, and no livestock was lost, Barreto said. It doesnt matter how the cat was reared or treated in its home. There is a point where its predatory instincts take over, and human life and property are in clear and present danger.
The FWC has a routine critical incident review in progress concerning the shooting, and officers are conducting a routine criminal investigation to determine the events surrounding the tigers escape from its Loxahatchee compound.
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