Roy, of 'Siegfried and Roy', attacked by tiger

[Barad Simith]

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AP) -- A tiger attacked magician Roy Horn of the duo "Siegfried & Roy" at his throat during a Friday night performance at The Mirage hotel-casino, authorities said.

Horn was taken to University Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition, said hospital spokeswoman Cheryl Persinger.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/West/10/04/roy.attacked.ap/

[rocktivity]

1. I can't imagine why--he has a three stroke lead

Oh, you mean a REAL tiger? Never mind.


rocknation

[truthisfreedom]

2. wow.

that doesn't happen every day. i hope he's ok.

[alcuno]

3. FAUX reported his condition as "beyond critical"

They interviewed a guy who was there who said that Roy was dragged off the stage by the tiger. It sounded pretty bleak.

[Occulus]

4. DUPE- mods please lock

the appropriate thread can be found here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=251536

[Barad Simith]

6. As a relatively new member...

...I'm curious as to why this is considered an inappropriate post. I was under the impression that I was posting a story that was six minutes old, and therefore a 'breaking' news story.

I'm asking this question so as not to repeat the mistake in the future.

[jab105]

8. Its just cause its a dupe...

its already been posted earlier, otherwise, it is ok to be in late breaking...we got some super quick people around here, a lot of us have given up posting in late breaking, cause someone always beats us to the stories:)

PS-Welcome:)

[Barad Simith]

11. thank you n/t

[Dookus]

18. Actually...

since the "dupe" is in another forum, this is perfectly OK. We allow stories from LBN to be posted in one other forum.

Welcome to DU, Brad.

Dookus
DU Moderator

[VolcanoJen]

32. It's not a dupe.

This story meets the criteria for posting in the Latest Breaking News Forum. We do allow inter-forum duplicates; this story was also posted in the DU Lounge, but had not yet been posted in LBN.

Celebrity news is not *always* permitted in the Latest Breaking News Forum, but in this case, it certainly seems newsworthy, so the LBN Moderators have allowed it, as LBN Mod Dookus indicated earlier in this thread.

Just wanted to clear that up... :-)

Thanks!
VolcanoJen
DU Moderator

[Occulus]

33. Oh.

Well- Thanks! I ought to have known that.

[VolcanoJen]

34. No biggie, kgfnally.

:-)

The policy of allowing inter-forum duplicate threads hasn't always been made clear.

Just as an aside, I think this is a sad story, and although I'm not really a big fan of Siegfried and Roy, I do wish for Roy's speedy recovery, and I am hoping against hope they'll spare the tiger. I'm an animal lover and although I don't agree with using animals for entertainment in this capacity, I feel that these two entertainers have been advocates for white tigers, and from all I've read before, have raised them in a dignified manner.

VolcanoJen
DU Moderator

[ReadTomPaine]

5. Fox News ironically has the details on this one..

It appears as tho this was the 9 year old white tiger's first performance. Viewers in the audience report Roy Horn was dragged offstage "like a ragdoll" by his neck after trying to beat the animal away with a mike stand. Nasty situation.

There's a thread in the Lounge regarding this as well.

[BeHereNow]

7. Sorry, but as an animal rights activist

it well documented that these poor "show" critters
live miserable lives.
Although it is tragic, I sincerely hope this
incident will cause their torturing captors to
rethink the way the make a living.
Also the morons who shell out the bucks
to perpetuate this horrendous genre of "entertainment."
Actually, I hope the guy who has the primate act
is next...
sorry, but that is the most hidedious thing I
have ever witnessed.
The pain and fear in those creatures eyes
will haunt me the rest of my life.
BHN

[FlemingsGhost]

10. Hear, hear. I'm surprised it took this long, frankly.

Tigers belong in the wild. Not on a stage or behind bars.

Still, I hope Roy makes a full recovery.

(on edit: typo)

[Lorien]

12. I agree

I know some people down here in Florida that take in former "show" tigers and offer them a peaceful retirement and acres of enclosure, away from any crowds (www.wildlifeoneasystreet.com). It takes months, if not years, for the tigers to stop hissing at anyone who passes by their fences. Additionally, anyone who owns domestic cats knows that they are hardly predictable animals; wild cats are a thousand times less so. I hope Roy recovers, but it should be a lesson that nature really cannot be controlled by man.

[Piperay]

17. Gotta agree though

I hope he recovers and then gives up using wild animals as entertainment.

[ReadTomPaine]

20. No need to be sorry....

... I agree completely with you regarding animal acts. Heck I even have problems with 'pet ownership' for similar ethical reasons. One of the things that did it for me was learning about how elephants are 'trained' with meat hooks on poles and beaten till their skulls are exposed to learn to accept food from their captors as a sign of submission.

It's all happening at the zoo.

On edit- FYI, I understand that despite the act being quite exploitative, S&R are very active in tiger conservation circles and donate a lot of money towards the cause- esp. regarding white tigers. Interesting dynamics there.

[leftchick]

30. well said BHN....

I agree with you completely....

[pansypoo53219]

15. now

those people got what they paid for.
meow

[maggrwaggr]

9. This was "breaking news" on local LA television. Ugh

Almost as good as a car chase.

The news media is disgusting.

[JI7]

13. i wonder what bill maher will say

bill maher is a big animal rights supporter. he doesn't even think horses should be used for racing like in that recent popular movie(i don't watch many movies) that ic an't remember the name of. bill wont even watch that movie because of it.

[blackcat77]

14. Last week's show was the end of the season nt

[JI7]

16. oh well, but i'm sure he

will somehow get his opinion out on it. i just know how strongly he feels about this issue and he is one who loves to give his side of things.

[monobrau]

19. Don't play with tigers

Not to make light of the man's injuries, but tigers have no place in a Vegas Casino. Stick with magic guys, or maybe train humans to do your tricks for you.

[truthisfreedom]

22. after so many decades, we can assume they are experts.

something went wrong. big cats are dangerous, and something went wrong. but there's nothing wrong with vegas.

[T_i_B]

21. BTW folks

I'm thinking of going to see David Blaine in his perspex box this morning. I'm guessing some passers by will have already told him the news. :eyes:

Plus there is a lot of contrversy over here about a magician called Derren Brown who is to play russian roulette live on terrestrial TV.

[whirlygigspin]

23. best wishes

I hope Roy pulls through. I also like David Blaine, but I
don't get the box thing.

[T_i_B]

24. Most people don't get the box thing

Which is why so many Brits go to make fun of him. It's actually quite funny how taking the mick out of David Blaine has become such a big national thing.

[Lexingtonian]

25. I know this is wrong...

but there is a satirical joke involving the word "maneater" in there somewhere, trying to get out....

I'm sorry to hear of this happening. The big cats tend to mangle or break their victim's neck or spine, so I unfortunately can't imagine he has anything less than a concussion. Well, if it does badly at least his last memories will be of doing what he once loved and chose to make his life's work.

[roguevalley]

26. big cats hold the throats of their catches and strangle them.

*

[Avalon Sparks]

27. My thoughts and prayers go out to Roy~

Please, please let him be OK. From everything I've seen of Roy, he seems to really love those tigers.

I'm very sad to hear of this, very very sad.

[Dookus]

28. this is sad.....

I tend to agree with those who are opposed to using these beautiful animals for entertainment.

But I'm also aware that Siegfriend & Roy have done a lot to help the survival of these beautiful, rare animals.

Did you know their show is the most successful stage show in ALL OF HISTORY? I read a big profile on them a few years ago. At that point they were close to having taken in a BILLION dollars. They've probably surpassed that by now.

I would hope that the animals are well-cared for (and from all indications, they are) and that at least some percentage of the millions of who've seen their show have fallen in love with tigers and perhaps donated their time or money to help them survive.

Good luck, Roy.

[amazona]

31. roy is one of the good guys, my heart goes out to him

Far from exploiting these animals, he is very active in tiger conversation, and they are known for the excellent care they give their animals. And it's a damn good show too that has awakened a sense of wonder and respect for these animals in people all over the world.

I have never understood how it is exploiting an animal to give its mind and body a challenge. People who actually work with animals know that the trained performing animal is more alert and lives longer -- sometimes much
longer than the untrained one. I have seen it for myself many times with my birds and other people's birds. Of course, a parrot is more likely to get grouchy and attack than a tiger, but when a tiger does attack, obviously the consequences are much more severe. My heart goes out to Roy, and I hope he has a speedy recovery. Apparently, it was this tiger's first performances. I know that some parrots will never perform for the masses; perhaps there are some tigers that cannot do crowd scenes as well.

Entertainment -- art -- is an important value in human culture.
People don't care about what they never see. Tigers and the other big cats are at risk of extinction within a few decades. Siegfried and Roy bring the beauty of these animals to the public, albeit in a Vegas way, but that's how you popularize things and bring them to people's attention. If we are so pure that we only want to observe tigers stalking in a field somewhere in Asia, we are effectively saying that we don't want the majority of the American population to give one flying you-know about these animals, since they would only be observable by the rich!


this is truly sad news

[Must_B_Free]

29. It was his 59th birthday

sad.
Hang in there Roy.