Family of UK tiger attack victim urges end to video sharing after Trump posts footage

• William Chapman, 23, died after entering a tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster. The park said the endangered Amur tiger Altai will not be euthanised.
• His family said sharing footage of the attack is causing “severe distress” and asked people to stop. They described him as a “bright, warm and engaging young man” with long-term mental illness.
• US President Donald Trump posted the video on Truth Social, then shared an AI-generated clip of himself with a tiger. Local authorities have started a health and safety investigation, and the park remains closed.

LONDON – The family of a man killed by a tiger at a British wildlife park has urged people to stop sharing footage of the attack, saying it was causing them severe distress, after US President Donald Trump posted a video of the incident on social media.

Trump shared footage of the fatal attack on his Truth Social platform on Oct 13, writing “don’t ever mess with nature! President DJT”. He later posted an apparently AI-generated video depicting himself taming a tiger and then playing with it.

William Chapman died on Oct 10 after entering a tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster in northern England. The 23-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.

“The publication and circulation of deeply offensive media content is causing... severe distress at an exceptionally vulnerable time. We ask people to stop doing this,” Chapman’s family said in a statement on Oct 13, reported by British media.

The family described Chapman as a “bright, warm and engaging young man” who had suffered from significant mental illness for several years. They said it was for the coroner to determine whether his medical history played a role in his death.

The park said the tiger, an endangered Amur tiger named Altai, would not be euthanised.

The local authorities have launched a health and safety investigation. The park remains closed. REUTERS