When I first heard they were probably "taunting" the animal, I thought their actions were stupid. After reading about the sling shots, I now think their actions were criminal.
First, we are not talking about the little toys we had in grade school that could shoot a spit wad a few feet. These things are real weapons. They can wound or even kill.
The tiger should not have been able to get out, but these guys would not have been harmed if they had not been PHYSICALLY attacking the animal. They were hurting it. They may have even been trying to kill it. We don't know because the young men involved have NOT cooperated with the police, which tells you a lot about the circumstances, too.
While I'm sorry one is dead and 2 are injured, I believe this is a case of consequences suffered by one's actions. They would not have been harmed if they had not physically assaulted that tiger which literally drove him up that wall. In terms of liability, the zoo should be assigned 50% and the animal torturers should be assigned 50% and it should be a wash.
For all we know, the cat had made an earlier attempt and had hurt herself and the boys had nothing to do with her ultimate escape.
The facts remain..She escaped, killed a young man, mauled two others and has a history of being "quick tempered".
I do believe that if the evidence indicates that they were using slingshots that it is indeed a criminal offense & they should be prosecuted accordingly. After seeing what happened in Durham in ‘06, I’m hesitant to make too many assumptions without facts. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think these boys were angels by any means but I want to see what the evidence shows. I still have a problem that this was even able to happen. If the animals can get out because they were taunted it still shows they can get out & public safety is at serious risk. Clearly this zoo had no emergency plan in place which makes it even worse.