Cops were only able to find parts of the body of a zoo owner who was torn to shreds by his own lions while he tried to feed them.
Jozef B, 56, who is better known as Europe’s Joe Exotic, was slaughtered by his lions on Tuesday (May 16) after attempting to feed the beasts at the small zoo in Oskerda, Slovakia.
While Jozef previously had a permit to breed the animals, this expired in 2019 and was not renewed before his untimely death, the Sun reported.
A local, who only went by Peter, said: “He was very arrogant, he didn’t know how to behave, he abused the animals and they had very bad conditions.”
This isn’t the first time Jozef’s lions have brought serious harm to people.
In 2019, a 29-year-old woman was injured when petting a tiger at the zoo.
Jozef said at the time “We continue to operate and no one is at risk here.”
Despite this previous attack, Jozef seemed unfazed by the lions.
One woman told local media: “We used to come here regularly. I saw with my own eyes how he went to the cage and fed the lions.
“I always asked him if he was afraid, and he just said that he had been feeding them since they were babies.”
Cops said they were alerted by Jozef’s family when he did not return from feeding them, which he did regularly.
Slovakian cops killed two of the lions after they discovered human remains in the park this week.
Local authorities are considering putting all of Jozef’s lions and tigers at his zoo, which was shamed for being an “unsuitable environment” for the beasts.
Slovakian authorities said the last inspection at the zoo was in 2021 and the now-deceased owner was fined €2,000 (£1,470) at the time for unclear reasons.
He also reportedly had repeated run-ins with the law and animal rights organisations dating back to 2017.
This article by Perkin Amalaraj was first published by The Daily Star on 21 May 2023. Lead Image: Jozef B, also known as ‘Europe’s Joe Exotic’, was 56 years old when he was slaughtered by his own animals as he tried to feed them at his small zoo in Oskerda, Slovakia (Image: Newsflash).
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