Deadly Lion Attack Highlights Zoo Worker Safety

The fatal lion attack on a 22-year-old who was cleaning a supposedly empty lion enclosure at a North Carolina animal sanctuary in late December is renewing focus on zoos’ protection of animal handlers.

Zoos must figure out how safety practices work with unpredictable animal and human behavior, zoo professionals told Bloomberg Law.

“You are dealing with dynamic beings at all times,” said Jonathan Miot, who oversees courses in animal care as director of the Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo near Gainesville, Fla.

Fatal attacks at zoos are rare—four between 2011 and 2017—according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, which ...