Stuffed toy tiger leads to police call-out
Police in the German city of Braunschweig urgently scrambled a specialist armed response unit and called in a team of wildlife experts equipped with tranquilizer guns when a member of the public reported seeing an escaped tiger in the street. However, upon arrival at the scene the police promptly realised that the tiger in question was in fact a near life-sized stuffed toy and therefore presented no danger to public safety.
"It's better to be safe than sorry,” insisted Sara Faerber, 28, who raised the alarm. “In the half-light it looks just like a real tiger sitting there watching me. I edged backwards and then ran off and expected to feel it leap on my back at any moment. I was really scared.”
The toy was ultimately transported back to the local police station on the lap of an officer. Commenting on the matter, a police spokesperson said that "We'd like to find the owner just to piece together what happened. If we don't, we will probably arrange for it to be donated to a local children's home."
RCVS' Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) has launched round two of its veterinary mental health research grants.
