Escaped tiger shot dead by German police

German police have said they had shot dead a tiger that escaped from an enclosure run by a woman nicknamed the "Tiger Queen" after it attacked one of the keepers.

A police spokesman said that the animal had seriously injured one person, who was being treated in hospital.

The incident happened yesterday afternoon on the outskirts of the eastern city of Leipzig and involved an "escaped tiger which was killed by police using firearms," the spokesman said. An emergency services helicopter was used during the search for the animal.

The tiger escaped from the property of a "private individual" on the outskirts of Leipzig, the spokesman said, without giving details.

According to local media, the animal escaped from the property of a tiger trainer called Carmen Zander.

Ms Zander, known as the "Tiger Queen", has faced criticism in the past for the conditions in which the animals are kept at her enclosure.

Animal rights group PETA charged that veterinary authorities "share responsibility for this tragic incident" by failing to act against the facility sooner and demanded that the remaining nine animals there be confiscated.

According to Ms Zander's website, the animal was a nine-year-old, 280-kilogram Bengal-Siberian mix named "Sandokan".

Ms Zander was quoted by Bild daily as saying the animal was "a scaredy-cat" that could "quickly become overwhelmed and insecure" and could therefore attack "more quickly and unexpectedly" than the other animals.

According to Bild, the tiger reached a nearby plot of allotments before being shot by police.

One allotment gardener told the paper: "First we heard sirens and then right afterwards a helicopter came and lots of police", who warned the allotment owners to stay inside.

"Then there were suddenly several shots," she said.