Ontario SPCA probes Bowmanville Zoo over tiger whipping allegations

The Ontario SPCAislooking intoallegations that a tiger was whipped repeatedly by its trainer at azoo eastof Toronto.

• Ontario zookeeper under investigation for allegedly whipping Siberian tiger

The SPCA says it sent officers specializing in exotic animals tothe Bowmanville Zoo where they examined the tigers. No animalswere removed.

Michael Hackenberger,who owns the zoo, isbeing investigated after video surfaced of him swearing at and allegedly whipping a Siberian tiger at the zooduring a training session.

The U.S.-based animal rights group PETA hadasked the OSPCA to investigate Hackenberger after a volunteer at the zoo recorded the footage that it says showsanimal abuse.

A three-minute longvideo posted by PETA on its websiteand a shorter version posted on YouTube on Dec. 22consists of several segments edited together.

In it, Hackenberger is seen in a performance ring swearing at and appearing to whipthe tiger named Unowhen it does not comply with the commands of a trainer who he identifies as Madison.PETA alleges he whipped the tiger 19 times.

The SPCA says it will interview everyone involved in thesituation and will continue to monitor the care of the animalsinvolved in the investigation.

The agency says it will make sure that the animals get the carethey require while the investigation is ongoing.

In aresponse video posted online,Hackenberger acknowledged that the footage of him lashing the animal appears incriminating but disputes PETA's conclusions.

He saidhe whipped the tiger only twice and that the subsequent lashes were tothe ground not the tiger's body.

Hackenberger also saystheclips don't tell the whole story, adding that volunteer recorded 90 minutes of footage and selectively spliced together only three minutes in which he was disciplining the tiger.