Escaped circus tiger shot dead in Paris, owner in police custody

A tiger that escaped from a circus in Paris on Friday was shot dead by the owner, who was then taken into custody, police said.

A Bengal tiger rests at the temporary shelter of the 'Stichting Leeuw' Lion Foundation, which rescues retired circus animals. Source: Getty

Firefighters were called shortly before 1700 GMT by people who saw the 200-kilogram (440-pound) animal wandering around the 15th arrondissement in the southwest of the French capital near the office of France Televisions.

As the story spread on social media, Paris's transport authority briefly suspended traffic on a tram line in the area, which resumed with police authorisation.

After the incident Paris police wrote on Twitter that the risk had passed.

The tiger escaped from the Cirque Bormann-Moreno, which had just moved to the area and planned to open its doors to the public on December 3.

Police officials and rescue personnel transport the body of a tiger which had escaped from a circus into a vehicle in Paris on November 24, 2017. Source: Getty

"The owner was in shock. When we arrived the 200-kilogram tiger was already dead," Valerian Fuet, a spokesman for the firefighters, told AFP.

The animal was shot in an alley, he said, "it was not in the street, there were no passers-by".

The owner was taken into custody after the event, according to a police source. A police investigation has been opened into the incident.

Fuet said the body must be either taken back to the circus or to a clinic for an autopsy.