Zoo fined £255,000 after Scots keeper mauled to death by tiger
Sarah McClay was originally from Glasgow
A zoo has been fined £255,000 after a Scottish keeper was killed by a Sumatran tiger.
24 year old Sarah McClay, who was originally from Glasgow, was pounced on in the keeper's corridor of the tiger house at South Lakes Safari Zoo in Dalton-in-Furness, Cumbria, on May 24, 2013.
The company, whose sole director David Gill founded the zoo, entered guilty pleas at Preston Crown Court on Wednesday to contravening health and safety laws on the day of the tragedy.
The company was fined an additional £42,500 after it had also pleaded guilty to other health and safety law breaches when a zoo keeper fell from a ladder while preparing to feed big cats on July 18 2014.
It must also pay £150,000 prosecution costs.
Sentencing, Mr Justice Turner said it should not have been possible'' for the tiger to gain access to where Miss McClay was working.
Sentencing, Mr Justice Turner said it should not have been possible'' for the tiger to gain access to where Miss McClay was working.
He said: But as a substantially contributory cause as a result of a door-closing mechanism failure, it did.
The result was as tragic as it was foreseeable. The tiger attacked and Sarah was fatally injured.''
The judge said the incident the following year involving a ladder was an accident waiting to happen''.
Sarah's mother Fiona McClay spoke to our sister station CFM outside the court:
David Shaw was Sarah's boyfriend:
Sarah's sister Lucy said it should never have happened: