An injured person in Leipzig: Police shoot tiger at allotment garden

Leipzig – Major police operation near Leipzig: A tiger escaped from an enclosure in an industrial area. A man (73) was attacked and injured. The big cat belongs to the tamer Carmen Zander, known as the “Tiger Queen”. She keeps a whole group of big cats. The tiger that escaped made it to an allotment garden about 300 meters away. He was shot there.

The big cat initially injured one of Zander’s helpers around 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. The tiger then escaped from the enclosure and ran towards the gardens, which are fenced with chain link. How the animal escaped is still unclear. According to police, the 73-year-old helper was slightly injured. According to BILD information, he came to the hospital and was admitted as an inpatient.

Big cat

Dozens of police officers searched for the animal. According to BILD information, the big cat escaped about 300 meters away. A police spokeswoman told BILD: “The tiger was shot in the garden area.” The police killed the adult male animal with several shots from a long gun. According to officials, the tiger was outside for a maximum of half an hour.

No other tigers from the group escaped. “There is no longer any danger to the population,” said the police spokeswoman. Nevertheless, she wants to police check the area with a drone. The main aim is to ensure that no animals, such as horses, have been killed or injured. So far there has been no evidence of this. “Tiger Queen” Zander was visibly shocked after her tiger’s escape and stood at her car crying.

Keeping tigers highly controversial

The tamer is controversial. She keeps her ten or so tigers in cramped conditions in the industrial area. Zander was once celebrated in circuses across Europe. But more and more shows are abandoning the controversial and expensive wild animal numbers. Zander was no longer booked. So the award-winning tamer ended up stranded with her predators in Dölzig just outside Leipzig.

Since 2022, Zander has no longer been allowed to display her animals commercially. Since she is no longer involved in the circus, the authorities now require more generous keeping conditions for her tigers – the same as for zoos or wildlife parks. Zander can do this in the area available Leipzig but don’t offer. Five tigers alone would require 500 square meters. There are currently significantly fewer in the commercial area.

Finally she had to Tiger Queen brought to justicebecause she violated the ban on performing with her animals. She did this for financial reasons because she had to raise 4,500 euros a month for the food alone. At the beginning of 2025, six tiger cubs were born. There were “accidents,” said Zander. “This is not love for animals, but exploitation,” criticized biologist Dr. Yvonne Würz from the animal protection organization PETA in an earlier report.

The mayor of Schkeuditz (Dölzig is a district of the city), Rayk Bergner, said to the LVZ on Sunday afternoon when asked: “The tigers have to go. With three exclamation points. There must be a solution now, the authorities have to clarify it.”

After the tiger outbreak, authorities AAt the beginning of July, six animals were transported away. They were handed over to an animal protection organization and are to be taken to a rescue center in Spain, as the responsible district office in North Saxony announced. The background is animal welfare concerns: the area in the Schkeuditz district of Dölzig near Leipzig was too small for the number of tigers.