Man mauled by tiger in stable condition

From the Friday, August 8, 2008 edition of the Northwest Herald:

Man mauled by tiger in stable condition
By DIANA SROKA - dsroka@nwherald.com

RICHMOND – A man who was mauled by a tiger at a Richmond circus training facility this week was in stable condition Thursday at Centegra Hospital – McHenry.

Larry Dean, an animal caretaker, was injured Tuesday morning at Hawthorn Corp., owner John Cuneo said.

Dean suffered significant scratches and bites to his upper body and neck, Richmond Township Fire Chief Rick Gallas said. The injuries were not life-threatening, he said.

Richmond Fire took Dean to the McHenry hospital, where he remained Thursday, hospital spokeswoman Kim Kubiak said.

Cuneo said Dean had worked with animals for 28 years but was not supposed to be so close to the tigers Tuesday.

“He wasn’t supposed to go in with any animals, just had to see that everybody got fed and cleaned,” Cuneo said.

Cuneo said he could not release any other details about the incident.

Hawthorn Corp. has operated on unincorporated land near Richmond for decades and is no stranger to controversy.

In 2003, the U.S. Department of Agriculture charged Hawthorn Corp. with 47 animal-welfare violations after 16 elephants were exposed to a human strain of tuberculosis. The company admitted to 14 of the charges and agreed to pay a $200,000 fine and remove the elephants from the property.

Last year, an Iowa man sued Hawthorn Corp. after he allegedly was mauled by a white tiger in July 2005, when he was posing for photos at the facility.