Good stuff
Tiger Bites Worker at Putnam County Fair
By Grayson Kamm
First Coast News
PALATKA, FL -- The Putnam County Fair will still open Monday even though a fair worker was bitten by a tiger in an exhibit there the day before.
Investigators say the man stuck his hand into a white Bengal tiger's cage.
Deputies say Jason Hardin was so drunk early Sunday morning, they threatened to arrest him if he didn't go to bed. According to officers, Hardin agreed to head back to his trailer and walked off.
But instead of going to bed, deputies say Hardin climbed over a four-foot-high security fence, walked through a grassy area, and stuck his hand into the locked cage of a four-year-old tiger.
Hardin is not one of the people approved to work with the animals.
He was treated for bite wounds to his forearm and hand and later released from Shands Gainesville.
"As soon as the owner came out of the trailer, the tiger released its grasp of him -- so it's probably about a thirty second event," said Putnam County Sheriff Dean Kelly.
"A foolish thing, and I'm sure the subject -- if he had to do it all over again -- wouldn't stick his hand inside the tiger cage," Kelly said.
The state says the cat involved has no past problems.
"Wild animals -- when provoked -- are going to do what wild animals do, and that's protect themselves and their territory," Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Officer Kat Kelley explained.
The state's Fish and Wildlife Commission inspects every traveling exotic exhibit like this one. This particular show passed a state review just two weeks ago, Officer Kelley said.
"It [also] passed the inspection this morning. They've done everything right, they've got the correct safety barriers, the cage is locked, everything is in order. This was simply a matter of an error in judgment," Officer Kelley said.
"There's no fault of the owner here at all. So it's, again, a safe event for the citizens to come here and enjoy the fair," Sheriff Kelly added.
First Coast News