Brother of Sarah McClay, who died after being mauled by a tiger, criticises 'unsubstantiated claims' of park's owner
The brother of a woman mauled to death by a tiger has hit out at claims that the incident was her fault.
Sarah McClay, 24, died when she was attacked by a Sumatran tiger at South Lakes Wild Animal Park in Dalton-in-Furness, Cumbria, on Friday.
Her brother Stephen said the family had been hurt by suggestions by the park's owner, David Gill, that she had died because of "keeper error" and a "sad error of judgment".
"These are unsubstantiated claims by a man with an obvious axe to grind," he said. "My family and I feel his comments are ill-advised, premature and disrespectful. He's laying the blame squarely at her door before the official police inquiries have begun. It has caused hurt to our family."
In a statement on Sunday, McClay's family thanked the efforts of the emergency services and asked people to donate to a fund for the conservation of red squirrels in her memory.
Cumbria police believe an elaborate enclosure of gates means the animals and its keepers should remain apart at all times – but this system failed with fatal consequences.
Detectives do not suspect foul play or suicide but say McClay was carrying out her routine duties in an enclosure to which animals are not allowed access – when she was then confronted by the animal, which somehow managed to gain access to the pen.
Officers are trying to establish whether this was due to a technical fault or human error.
Writing on the park's Facebook page, Gill said: "We have made a statement that from the investigations that have taken place it is clear that this tragedy was caused by a sad error of judgment and breach of protocols, in essence, keeper error.
"This is not blame, it is not anything but defining the facts as they appear. This does not mean Sarah killed herself on purpose, it means simply she died from her own tragic mistake."