Wildlife park lets you pet tiger for £160

A wildlife park is charging members of the public to feed a 500lb tiger and pet it by putting their fingers inside its cage, a practice condemned by animal welfare groups as dangerous.

For a £160 fee, Paradise Wildlife Park in Hertfordshire allows customers to stroke with their fingers Rocky, a nine-year-old Siberian and Bengal tiger cross described as a “gentleman”. The park also permits customers to feed Narnia, a white tiger. Meat is held up to the bars so it can be pulled into the cage. Staff said Narnia “does not like people very much”.



The wildlife park is offering the service up to twice a day despite the deaths of two people from maulings by tigers at two unconnected zoos overseas within the past month.

This weekend animal welfare groups criticised the practice of letting the public feed the tigers. Will Travers, the chief executive of the Born Free Foundation, said: “These are wild animals. This is an accident waiting to happen.”