“We didn’t do anything wrong,” says the spokeswoman for Circus Berolina, but the authorities are investigating. The circus lent a tiger cub to a Berlin clan, which apparently ran around freely in their villa. The investigation is now underway to determine whether any laws have been violated.
A young tiger in the villa of a well-known clan in Berlin-Neukölln has triggered a police operation and regulatory investigations. A spokeswoman for the Neukölln district said it had to be clarified where the animal came from and whether there were violations of the animal protection law. Meanwhile, it was said by Circus Berolina from Schönefeld in Brandenburg that he had lent a tiger cub for a performance at a party. “He’s fine,” said a spokeswoman for the circus family.
According to the Berlin regulation on the keeping of “dangerous animals of wild species”, a tiger may not be kept privately, according to the spokeswoman for the authorities. Against this background, there was a search with the support of the police on Tuesday evening in the villa. According to the information, the trigger was photos on social media showing a tiger in the villa. There was a risk to public safety because it could not be ruled out that the animal would escape from the property, the district said. There was also a risk of illegal animal trade. At the time of the mission, however, the tiger was no longer in the villa.
The seven-month-old tiger girl was there for about 10 to 15 minutes, according to Circus Berolina. “We did nothing wrong,” said the spokeswoman. Three keepers accompanied the animal. According to the circus, it did not know that the date was a celebration of a well-known Arab clan. “We are booked and then we go there,” said the spokeswoman.
Several media had reported that a wedding was celebrated in the clan villa. There has been a long-standing dispute about the villa. The building and land belong to 77 properties that prosecutors confiscated in 2018. According to the authorities, these were not bought with legal money. In the case of the villa, it has now been finally decided that the state of Berlin is the owner. The district of Neukölln had given notice to the family and set a deadline for moving out in 2021. Since the clan did not vacate the villa, the district went to court.
