The managers of a circus have been indicted to stand trial in Qatar after a leopard attacked a six-year-old boy while posing with the animal for a photo.
The leopard pounced on the boy and held him by his neck while the boy’s mother, the animal’s trainer and other witnesses attempted to free him, Arabic daily Al Sharq reported.
The boy was eventually released. His injuries have not been revealed.
A Doha criminal court ruled the incident was the fault of the circus organisers and the circus general manager and the leopard’s trainer have been referred to the public prosecution on a charge of “committing a mistake which endangered the safety of a child”.
“Neglect, absence of caution and failure to observe the laws and regulations have been responsible for the incident,” the judge was quoted as saying.
“The result is the crime caused by violation of the principles of their professions.”
The father of the child told the court his son had watched the circus with his mother and they asked to have a photo taken of the boy with the leopard. Suddenly the leopard pounced on him.
He called for legal action against those responsible.
The mother told the court the leopard’s trainer had asked for money for the photo, which she gave to him.
The Qatar Tourism Authority, which issued the licence for the circus, claimed the attack was an individual incident caused by the “mistake committed by the circus management and that taking of pictures with a wild circus animal is regarded as an abnormal behaviour”.
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