Advocates: Fatal zoo mauling shows need for crackdown

RALEIGH, N.C.

The fatal mauling of a zoo intern by a lion that escaped from a locked pen illustrates the need for North Carolina regulators to crack down on unaccredited exhibitors of dangerous animals, animal welfare advocates said Monday.

Alexandra Black, 22, was attacked Sunday while cleaning an animal enclosure with other staff members. It was at least the 10th instance of an escape or attack by an animal at a privately run North Carolina wildlife facility since 1997, according to the Humane Society.

Officials said the lion somehow escaped from a nearby pen and killed the recent college graduate just two weeks after she started working at the Conservators Center near Burlington, about 60 miles northwest of Raleigh. Sheriff’s deputies shot and killed the animal before retrieving Black’s body.

Staff/wire reports