Ontario zookeeper under investigation for allegedly whipping Siberian tiger

The Ontario Society for the Protection of Animals has opened an investigation into the alleged whipping of a Siberian tiger at the Bowmanville Zoo during a training session.

Michael Hackenberger, the owner of Bowmanville Zoological Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, can be seen hitting the animal in the face repeatedly during a training session.

The young Siberian tiger is whipped up to 20 times on the face and body. “And the paws … being on the rock, when you hit him, it’s like a vice”, he said.

And that’s exactly what PETA did. Hackenberger has supplied animals to many TV and film productions, including “The Interview”, PETA said. The PETA Foundation’s deputy director of captive animal law enforcement, Brittany Peet, said: “You should no more whip a young tiger than a young child – it’s out of line and, we believe, outside of the law”.

The Bowmanville Zoo was quick to respond with a half-hour-long video calling PETA’s allegations “manufactured” and offering a step-by-step explanation of the actions seen in the video released by the organization.

As for the clip of him saying he likes hitting the tiger in the face and paws, Hackenberger claims PETA created that particular moment of the clip, though he doesn’t explain how. Hackenberger claims the rest of the whipping was from him just striking the ground beside the tiger.

After a social media uproar, Hackenberger released a statement apologizing for his “offensive language”. “We’re going to let the animals tell the story”. “But I did not viciously whip that tiger”.

“I did not strike this animal. I strike the ground beside him”, and instead the tiger moved because of the verbal commands of his assistant, Madison.

“A tiger will not lay on the ground and allow itself to be struck as this videotape suggests”, he said in his response. But I did not viciously whip that tiger.

He also says that the PETA “plant” cut out 1.5 hours of footage recorded, and questions why they cut out the other footage.

“Wild animals like Uno perform stressful and confusing tricks because they’re terrified that they’ll be beaten if they don’t”, they added. He also swore at a baboon on live television when the primate fell off of a pony during a stunt.