The family of a man killed by a tiger at a UK wildlife park have spoken at their “severe distress” at the circulation of online media content after the US president, Donald Trump, reposted a video of the incident.
William Chapman, 23, was mauled to death after entering an enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, near Doncaster, on Saturday.
His family described him as “bright, warm and engaging” and suffering from severe mental illness. They said online footage being shared was “deeply offensive” and causing them “severe distress”.
One of those to circulate footage was Trump who posted a video clip of the tiger attack to 13million followers on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday.
The clip showed the tiger biting and clawing Chapman as he was sitting in the enclosure. At one point he wags his finger at the animal.
Trump signed the footage with: “Don’t ever mess with nature! President DJT.” It did not show Chapman being killed.
Later the president posted an AI-generated video of himself grinning and having fun by chasing and play fighting with the tiger. It is accompanied by the song The Lion Sleeps Tonight by The Tokens.
It features the president copying the pointing gesture made by Chapman and ends with him and the tiger hugging.
Relatives of Chapman, in a statement released on Tuesday evening, said: “The family are utterly devastated by their loss and are struggling to come to terms with what has happened.
“The publication and circulation of deeply offensive media content is causing them severe distress at an exceptionally vulnerable time. We ask people to stop doing this.
“The family are hopeful that the relevant authorities will do their upmost to get to the bottom of why our amazing son did what he did.”
The statement continued: “William was a bright, warm and engaging young man whom his family dearly loved – and William loved them back.
“Sadly, William suffered from significant mental illness over a number of years and was consequently prescribed strong medication.
“It will be for the coroner to decide what part this played in his death.
“We would ask everybody to respect that process.”
As a child, Chapman appeared in ITV’s 2009 comedy drama May Contain Nuts and in BBC Learning’s True Stories series, according to IMDb.
He previously attended Jackie Palmer stage school in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, which paid tribute on Facebook and posted a picture of Chapman as a child student.
The school said it was “deeply saddened” by Chapman’s death, adding: “We loved watching William grow, both as a person and as a performer.
“It was a privilege to be part of his journey, and he will be remembered with great fondness by everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him.
“William will be truly missed, and he will always hold a special place in our hearts. Rest in peace, William.”
The wildlife park has said the Amur (Siberian) tiger involved, called Altai, will not be euthanised.
The park has remained closed since the weekend and Doncaster city council, which is responsible for licensing the park, said it had started a health and safety investigation.
An inquest is due to open into the death at Doncaster coroner’s court on Thursday morning.
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