A three-year-old boy was undergoing surgery last night after he was seriously injured by a tiger that was being taken out for a “walk” by its handlers at Montekristo’s illegal zoo in Ħal-Farruġ yesterday.

Sources told this newspaper the main concern was that he may have suffered permanent facial scarring that would require plastic surgery.

Two handlers decided to take tiger for a walk as it was looking poorly

Police said the tiger, which was on a leash, lashed out at the boy, who was accompanied by a 56-year-old man from Żabbar. The incident happened at 4.30pm between the park’s cafeteria and carousel.

Police were carrying out interviews with witnesses and the two handlers who were monitoring the tiger.

When contacted, a park spokesman said the incident happened when the two handlers decided to take the “friendly” tiger – which they had raised – out of its cage for a stroll as it was looking poorly.

‘Tiger wrapped paws around boy’

Thrilled to see a big cat, the young boy ran towards the tiger, which was lying on the ground. Consequently, the spokesman said, the tiger, “wanting to play”, wrapped its big paws around the boy to “hug” him, lashing him with its nails in the process.

“At no point did the tiger bite the boy or anything of the sort,” the spokesman said.

When asked if it was normal procedure for handlers to take tigers out for “walks” when people were visiting the park, the spokesman said that “sometimes they [tigers] were taken for a walk; it’s like taking a dog for a walk”.

Asked if this was not simply an accident waiting to happen, the spokesman said: “It was not a particularly busy day [yesterday] and seeing that the tiger was unwell the handlers decided to take him out. At this point, we will obviously revise procedures to ensure additional safety measures are in place.”

A woman who witnessed the incident wrote on Facebook that visitors were in shock. She questioned the tiger’s so-called “friendly” demeanour and said “if it was so friendly why did they tell a guy in shorts not to walk past it” because the tiger “can smell your flesh”.

“Why did they walk the tiger near the entrance of the café and carousel, close to people and kids,” she asked, adding that her kids too became excited and ran towards the tiger, until she screamed at them to stay away.

Montekristo Estates is owned by the Polidano Group; however, the land at Ħal Farruġ is riddled with illegal development.

The illegal zoo already hosts over 60 different species that benefit from international protection under Cites, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.