/ 25 June 2007

Officials visit game farm after tiger attack

All permits are in order at the Heilbron game farm in the Free State where a Bengal tiger attacked a child and her father over the weekend, environmental officials said on Monday.

”There is no problem with the camps, fences or permits,” said Werner Boing, spokesperson on biodiversity compliance at the local department of environmental affairs.

Boing said officials visited the game farm on Sunday.

This came after an 18-month-old girl sustained serious facial injuries when a Bengal tiger grabbed at her through a fence during a visit to the farm on Saturday.

The girl’s father also sustained injuries to his left hand and both were admitted to the Midvaal Hospital at Drie Riviere in Vereeniging.

A hospital spokesperson said on Monday the family had asked that no information about the girl and her father be given to the media.

There were various yellow warning signs at the Moratuwa Game and Holiday Farm near Heilbron, which caution people about the dangerous predators on the farm, the Volksblad newspaper reported on Monday.

According to the report, parents are reminded that children should always be with adults and to stay about 2m from the fences

The owner of the farm was not at home when the incident happened. — Sapa