Tiger that collapsed in convulsions at a circus was cruelly dragged and doused with cold water

A tigress began to convulse after jumping through the rings of fire in a full act of the circus of Magnitogorsk, Russia, in front of hundreds of horrified spectators.

The brother and sister who train and handle the big six-year-old feline named Zena have denied accusations of animal cruelty and have defended their actions, saying they feared a bloodbath would occur.

According to a Mirror report, Artur Bagdasarov said that he and his sister Karina were worried that the other six tigers would attack the animal that collapsed.

The man dragged the tigress by the tail to pull her away from the edge of the stage as they emptied buckets of water over the unconscious animal. Read more on our Twitter account @amomama_usa

The siblings swung long sticks used as whips to prevent the other six tigers from approaching. In addition, the tamer denied the use of a stun gun.

CRITICISM ON THE PART OF ANIMAL DEFENDERS

The rain of criticism for the cruelty of the tamers towards the animals was immediate, and the brothers were branded as "sadists". Critics protested that animals continue to be used in circuses, taking into account everything that tamers do to make them obey.

Other critics questioned the intimidating attitude of the tamer with the cane in hand, the presence of fire, the bizarre lights and the high volume of music, coupled with the noise generated by the audience, either with shouts or applause, as these generate stress in animals.

RESPONSE OF THE CRITICISM

The tamer responded to the criticism by assuring that what happened to the tigress was only a spasm and that "it can happen to anyone". He also told that the animal feeds well and can walk with the others. Although he gave a part of tranquility and added that the animal will be tested, there are many people who distrust him.

As reviewed by Mirror UK, Karina said the following: "Artur did everything possible to restore Zena's sense and did everything right: he touched her reflective areas, he poured water. The main thing was to prevent other animals from attacking. For them, a weak animal is a goal. "

She added: "If we hadn't stopped them, it would have ended with a bloody fight. And nobody knows who would have survived that."

THE FACTS CAPTURED IN VIDEO

The video shows how the tigress, after jumping through the rings, began to have what seems an epileptic attack. After they poured water over her and touched her with the stick, the animal began to come to herself gradually.

For his part Artur made it clear that "it was an emergency for all of us, it was a shock, we don't have many people, we only have two behind the wire fence, we usually work with a water cannon".

He added: "It is necessary for the animal to come back to itself quickly. I shouted for the assistants to bring water and demanded that the music and microphones be turned off. As soon as she calmed down and was reanimated with water, she woke up. The main thing is that everything was done to help her recover."

The spectators applauded when the feline stood up and soon walked. Watch the following video so you know the details. The discretion of the reader is advised, as the video contains strong images.

This story reminds us of another case of animal cruelty in which a mountain lion named Mufasa was finally released into the wild after 20 long years of living chained in the back of a circus pickup truck.

The video of Mufasa’s liberation into the wild was recorded and uploaded on YouTube by Animal Defenders International (ADI), who also rescued the animal from its captors along with other wildlife officials of Peru.