Man's leg amputated after tiger attack

Jordan Wilson
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

WARREN COUNTY, MO. -- A volunteer at an exotic animal farm had his lower leg amputated Monday after a tiger attacked him Sunday on his first day of work.

Authorities said an 800-pound tiger attacked Jacob Barr, 26, of Warrenton, about 11 a.m. Sunday while he was helping clean cages at the Wesa-A-Geh-Ya facility near Warrenton.

Barr was listed in satisfactory condition at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis after surgery to amputate his leg below the knee.

Barr's father's roommate and longtime friend, Chris Bryant, said Barr seemed to be in good spirits Monday afternoon after the surgery.

''When I talked to Jacob, he said he was so scared he thought he was going to die,'' Bryant said. ''He said, 'When the tiger started biting me, I kept punching it in the head.' ''

The tiger, named Tony, was shot by the owners during the attack.

Sandra Smith, 58, one of Wesa's owners, said Monday the attack was a ''freak accident.''

Smith said Barr was a first-time volunteer, and was being trained on how to care for the animals when the attack happened.

While Barr and another worker were cleaning the cage, Smith said the tiger jumped a 12-foot fence and got hold of him. The other volunteer screamed for help, she said, and Smith ran out with her gun and shot the tiger. Smith said her husband, Ken, 51, later shot and killed the tiger.

''When I shot that animal, my heart just died,'' Sandra Smith said outside her home, which is adjacent to Wesa. ''I knew it had to be done.''

In an interview Sunday with the Post-Dispatch, Smith said she would let authorities take and euthanize the roughly 60 animals at her facility.

But Monday, she said she wasn't sure if she was ready to give up. The Smiths have operated Wesa-A-Geh-Ya, which means ''cat lady'' in Sandra Smith's native Cherokee language, for more than 20 years, and she said this was the first time an animal mauled a volunteer.

Over the years, the facility has come under government scrutiny and criticism by animal rights groups.

Wesa was open to the public until the Smiths surrendered their exhibitors license to the USDA in late 2003 in the midst of a federal investigation. Allegations included not providing proper veterinary care and lacking adequately trained employees. Sandra Smith says they surrendered the license in order to keep the animals.

In 2003, she received probation for failing to keep cages properly locked. This past May, Ken Smith was placed on probation for failing to register some animals.

Sandra Smith says Wesa is the best chance the animals have at surviving since many of them have been abandoned. And as long as they are registered, it is legal to own exotic animals in Missouri.

Warren County Sheriff Kevin Harrison said his department will have to pay more attention to Wesa.

''The law may allow them to operate, but at some point we have to take initiative to regulate them beyond what the state of Missouri does,'' Harrison said.

''Now the thought has to be any time a cat wants to hop the fence and get to you, he can.''

Harrison said the facility has been mostly cooperative throughout the years, but workers tried to cover up the attack Sunday.

Initially, Wesa workers told authorities Barr was attacked by a pit bull. Harrison said the story changed, though, when Barr's father told the department a tiger attacked his son, not a dog.

Then, Wesa workers described the attack, Harrison said. The cover-up, which Smith says was done to keep her animals, is a major concern, Harrison said.

''If they're going to operate that kind of facility, they have a moral and ethical responsibility to the citizens to be honest,'' Harrison said. ''Especially when it could jeopardize other people's safety.''

Debbie Leahy, a director for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said she wasn't surprised to hear about the attack. She said she toured the facility about five years ago, and was shocked at the conditions of the cages. PETA sent a letter Monday urging federal wildlife authorities to investigate the attack.

''This was clearly an accident waiting to happen,'' Leahy said. ''We had received a number of complaints about this facility.''

Tiger attack near Branson

A worker at Predator World near Branson was critically injured in a tiger attack on Monday.

Stone County Sheriff Richard Hill said a 16-year-old worker entered a pen to take a photo for a customer and was attacked by three tigers. One of the animals knocked the teenager to the ground, while two others dragged the boy into a water pool.

Employees pulled the teen from the cage before emergency responders arrived. The teen was airlifted to a Springfield hospital and was in critical condition, with injuries including punctures to his neck. His name was not released.

The Associated Press provided information for this report.