In 2005, Haley Hilderbrand, a 17-year-old high school student, decided to have her senior picture taken with a wild animal at a farm that was licensed to rescue and shelter exotic animals, including tigers, bears, lions, cougars, monkeys and alligators. The farm had made its animals available for photos in the past.
But on the day Haley had her picture taken, the 700-pound Siberian tiger attacked Haley. She later died from her injuries.
Thomas Warner Jr. of the Warner Law Offices in Wichita, Kan., who represented Haley's father, Randy Hilderbrand, in both the wrongful death suit and the related insurance dispute, faults the tiger's handler. "Some say, 'How could the family let their daughter get her picture taken with a tiger?' " Warner said. "They didn't know how lax this tiger handler would be. He held back a 700-pound, full-grown adult with only a dog leash."
According to the 10th Circuit opinion, the handler was Doug Billingsley, whose parents, Keith and Sharon Billingsley, owned the farm, along with Animal Entertainment Productions, a for-profit partnership that exhibited the rescued animals at magic shows and other events. Doug Billingsley was a trained animal handler, who had spent time working with magic shows involving large cats in Malaysia and on a Singapore-based cruise ship. He also worked in the lion habitat of the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas.
No comments:
Post a Comment