Killer pet tiger attacks 10-year-old boy then mauls owner to death in horrific incident

A man who waged a two-year legal fight to preserve his right to house exotic animals on private land met a tragic end when he was fatally attacked – by one of his own pet tigers.

Norman Buwalda, known as Norm, was 66 when he was killed in January 2010 by his pet tiger. In the years leading up to the fatal incident, Norm had challenged a local township ordinance that prohibited exotic animals on private property, which was enacted after a 10-year-old child was attacked by a tiger on Norm’s property in 2004.

The exotic animal collector from Southwald, Canada, successfully overturned the legislation in the Supreme Court of Canada and continued keeping big cats until 2010, including a 46.5 stone tiger that would eventually kill him in a horrific attack.

According to the Toronto Star, the affluent Dutch native kept two lions, two tigers and a cougar as pets, with the large felines housed in a screened enclosure on his land, reports the Daily Star.

On January 10, 2010, Ontario Provincial Police confirmed Norm was fatally mauled by one of his pet tigers at his Southwold property, approximately 28 kilometres southwest of London, Ontario.

Norm, who had engaged in years of disputes with neighbors regarding his exotic wildlife collection, had apparently entered the 47 stone tiger’s enclosure to feed the animal when it turned on him and killed him.

Ontario Provincial Police Constable Troy Carlson stated at the time: “The owner of some exotic animals went out to feed the tiger which was in a cage or large pen and the animal attacked him and killed him.

“We don’t know what actually took place because no one witnessed it, but the tiger ended up attacking him and killing him.”

Shortly afterward, one of Norm’s relatives reportedly discovered his mauled body and managed to secure the big cat in a separate area of the enclosure before alerting authorities. The wild animal was observed pacing within the confined space where it had been isolated when police arrived on scene.

In the aftermath of Norm’s gruesome death, the killer tiger was removed and relocated, and the exotic animal owner’s collection was dispersed.

Neighbor Joanne Does told the Toronto Star: “He told us once that he trusted animals more than he trusted people. He felt closer to animals than people.”

She continued: “He appeared like a bully… but he was a very sad man, lonely I think.”

Fellow neighbor Patricia England recalled that Norm had assured them ‘his animals wouldn’t hurt a fly’. She noted that as beings on this planet, ‘everyone has a place’ – and Norm’s home wasn’t the right place for wild animals.

Patricia added: “It’s not the animal’s fault. It was just doing what a tiger does.”

The deadly attack on Norm wasn’t the only incident to take place on his notorious property. Six years prior, in June 2004, a 10-year-old child was attacked by a Siberian tiger that had been released from its enclosure on a heavy chain leash so that the youngster could photograph the deadly beast for a school project based on Norm’s exotic animals.