June 30, 2017 9.26 am This story is over 81 months old

Horncastle man adds tiger to collection of over 200 wild animals in his own backyard zoo

Most people have a patio and flower bed in their back garden but one Horncastle man has gone above and beyond to create his own personal backyard zoo with the introduction of a tiger. Scrap metal dealer Andrew Riddel, who runs his own skip hire company in the town, was offered six-year-old Bengal tiger Syas from…
Photo: Steve Smailes for Lincolnshire Reporter

Most people have a patio and flower bed in their back garden but one Horncastle man has gone above and beyond to create his own personal backyard zoo with the introduction of a tiger.

Scrap metal dealer Andrew Riddel, who runs his own skip hire company in the town, was offered six-year-old Bengal tiger Syas from famous circus group Chipperfields after he needed to be separated from his brother.

Syas now joins a family of over 200 wild animals ranging from zebras and camels to kookaburras and kangaroos.

The Bengal tiger, which now lives in Horncastle surrounded by a 25ft fence, lives off chicken and pork supplied by local butchers Whisbys.

Andrew told Lincolnshire Reporter: “This animal has never been in the wild.

“If he went into the wild now he wouldn’t survive as he wouldn’t know how to. He doesn’t know how to kill.

“I didn’t want to have a tiger in the first place, it came to me partly by accident, I got offered it, so we took it.

“We looked at many other zoos to see what their enclosures were like to make sure we had what the tiger needed.

“We put a 25ft fence up and wanted to make sure it was bang on, not just for the tiger but for us as well.

“I’ve got over 200 animals, anything from zebras and camels to miniature donkeys, kookaburras, lamas, lemurs, emus, kangaroos, you name it.”