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In mauling death, was tiger more valuable than zoo keeper?

Zookeeper Stacey Konwiser, 38, shown in 2015, was attacked and killed by a 13-year-old male tiger Friday at the Palm Beach Zoo. Palm Beach police are now investigating a threat against the tiger by a caller to the zoo.
Zookeeper Stacey Konwiser, 38, shown in 2015, was attacked and killed by a 13-year-old male tiger Friday at the Palm Beach Zoo. Palm Beach police are now investigating a threat against the tiger by a caller to the zoo. Brianna Soukup Associated Press

In a recent Bradenton Herald, Kelli Kennedy of the Associated Press wrote that a tiger killed a veteran Palm Beach Zoo keeper. I am perplexed that the value of the tiger was considered to be greater than the value of the life of the zoo keeper, Stacey Konwiser.

Rather than killing the tiger immediately, it was deemed more appropriate to sedate the tiger and wait for whatever time it would take for the sedation to take effect, without concern for whether or not immediate attention would/could have helped save Stacey. The almighty dollar rears it's ugly head again!!

Dick Coury

Bradenton

This story was originally published April 25, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "In mauling death, was tiger more valuable than zoo keeper? ."

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