A trainer associated with Joe Exotic, who’s known as the “Tiger King,” was killed by a tiger Saturday at an Oklahoma animal reserve, the facility announced.
In a statement shared on Facebook, Growler Pines Tiger Reserve wrote: “It is with profound sorrow that we confirm the tragic loss of Ryan Easley, who lost his life in an accident involving a tiger under his care” at the reserve in southeastern Oklahoma.
The reserve added: “This tragedy is a painful reminder of both the beauty and unpredictability of the natural world. Ryan understood those risks — not out of recklessness but out of love. The animals under his care were not just animals to him, but beings he formed a connection with — one rooted in respect, daily care and love.”
Choctaw County Sheriff Terry Park told The New York Times that Easley had been mauled near the end of a show:
“In a split-second everything was OK, and then the tiger grabbed him and started biting him around the neck area and shoulder area,” Sheriff Park said in an interview on Monday. When Mr. Easley fell to the ground after the attack, the tiger backed away and Mr. Easley’s wife went into the cage and moved the tiger to another cage, Sheriff Park said.
Joe Exotic — who was featured in the Netflix documentary series “Tiger King” and is serving a 21-year prison sentence after being convicted of plotting the murder of animal rights activist Carole Baskin — wrote in a lengthy tribute to Easley: “No one can blame the tiger for what happened. We all take risk in what we do and we don’t need further laws to ban tigers because of this because you can get killed doing just about anything. Driving down the road, going to School or church or speaking at a University.”
He wrote that Easley had “built a large compound on the back side of my zoo to house his Tigers” about 15 years ago.
Debbie Metzler, the senior director of captive wildlife for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Foundation, condemned the practice of using wild animals for entertainment, saying in a statement: “It’s never safe for humans to interact directly with apex predators, and it’s never a surprise when a human is attacked by a stressed big cat who has been caged, whipped, and denied everything natural and important to them. PETA is calling for the remaining wild animal exhibitors who aren’t dead or in federal prison to get out of the business now and send the animals to accredited sanctuaries where they can finally live in peace.”