Crime & Safety

Tiger Killed On l-75 Near Atlanta Was Headed To Nashville: ICYMI

A tiger killed Wednesday near Interstate 75 in Henry County was part of a circus contingent headed to Tennessee, its owners said.

Craig Johnson, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge

HENRY COUNTY, GA -- A tiger shot and killed Wednesday in Henry County was part of a circus contingent on its way to Tennessee, Patch has learned. The company responsible for the tiger, Feld Entertainment, is also facing calls from an animal rights group to have the government stop it from transporting other big cats. The Bengal Tiger, named Suzy, likely got out when the driver hauling the big cat stopped for a break near the Jodeco Road exit off Interstate 75.

Feld Entertainment spokesman Stephen Payne said the tiger and other animals were being transported from Florida to Nashville. (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

Suzy and the others were part of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which shut down earlier this year after a 146-year run. The tiger added a surreal aspect to the early-morning commute as authorities received several calls about the cat near I-75.

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Read more: Atlanta commute turns into jungle as tiger spotted

PETA released a statement late Wednesday condemning Feld Entertainment for the tiger's fate.

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"This isn't the first big cat to die violently at the hands of Feld Entertainment, Ringling's parent company —others include a tiger who was fatally shot at close range while locked in a cage and a lion who baked to death in a hot boxcar," PETA Vice President and Deputy General Counsel Delcianna Winders said. "When Feld sentenced these tigers to a miserable life in a German circus, this tiger's fate was sealed. She was gunned down on the streets of Atlanta, and PETA bets that she won't be the last to die tragically. In light of this tragedy, we are calling on the federal government to revoke Feld's permit to export 14 other big cats."

Terrified residents posted on social media Wednesday about the big cat walking through their yards.

Henry police officers called animal control but had to take the predator down as the safety of surrounding households came into question. Henry police Capt. Joey Smith said incident escalated when the tiger attacked a dog at a private residence.

“Unfortunately, it jumped a fence and went after a dog back behind one of the residences here,” Smith told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “And the officers had to use some force to put the tiger down.”

The officers had to shoot the tiger with county-issued firearms since they were not equipped with tranquilizer guns. The issue of schoolchildren appearing as the morning progressed also was something the officers weighed, WGCL reports.

Brittney Speck told the TV station that it was her dog that the tiger pounced on before police neutralized the situation. She said just one of the tiger's legs equaled the size of her dog.

A Hardee's employee said when she arrived at work about 4 a.m., a man told her that he'd seen a tiger. That's when Suvannee Brownlee said she saw a large police presence approach and an officer told her to hunker down inside the eatery.

“I was shocked,” Brownlee told the newspaper.

The spokesman for Feld said that the driver didn't even realize the tiger had gotten out until he got into Tennessee -- and that's when Georgia officials were notified. It is unclear if there will be any legal ramifications related to the incident.

Image via Pixabay

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