Four tigers maul performer to death at a circus in Italy

Ettore Weber was an experienced circus trainer
Ettore Weber was an experienced circus trainer

An investigation has been opened in Italy after an acclaimed circus trainer was mauled to death by four of his own tigers.

Ettore Weber, 61, was training the tigers at a circus outside Bari, in southern Italy, when one turned on him and started mauling him.

The other three tigers then joined in the attack and “played” with the trainer’s body for half an hour before they could be driven away by circus workers.

He was rushed to hospital but died of his injuries on Thursday night. 

The four tigers have been removed from the Orfei Circus and sent to a local safari park while the investigation is carried out.

Mr Weber and his tigers were part of a circus show billed as “A journey through five continents”, featuring a range of animals including camels, zebras, giraffes and llamas.

Circus trainer Ettore Weber with five tigers

The circus has been pitched outside a shopping centre near Bari since mid-June, with the show due to have ended on July 14.

Italian authorities are trying to establish why the big cats turned on him, given that he was carrying out a routine training session.

In 2013, two tiger cubs owned by the same circus were confiscated by animal inspectors because of irregularities in the way in which they were kept and transported, Italian media reported.

Three years ago, a circus trainer in Egypt was killed after being mauled by a lion during a live show. 

Islam Shaheen, 35, was mauled to death in front of horrified spectators at the circus in Alexandria.

In 2017, a zookeeper was mauled to death by a tiger at a zoo in the UK. 

Rosa King, who died after being mauled by a tiger at Hamerton Zoo in Cambridgeshire in 2017 Credit: South West News Service

Rosa King, 33, was cleaning windows in the tiger enclosure at Hamerton Zoo Park in Cambridgeshire when she was attacked by a male tiger called Cicip.

She suffered "significant" injuries including a severed spinal cord and deep cuts to her arms and neck, an inquest heard this week. Miss King had worked at the zoo for more than a decade.

Also in 2017, a circus trainer in China was attacked by a tiger during a show.

The incident happened in Liaoning province, in the north-east of the country, and was captured on video.

Footage showed the tiger pouncing on the trainer and dragging him around the ring, which was surrounded by a cage. The trainer survived the attack.