Norman Buwalda spent years defending his ability to keep exotic animals on his property in Southwold Township, Ontario. His collection included large cats, and a dispute over their presence eventually became a significant local controversy.

On January 10, 2010, that story ended tragically. The 66-year-old entered the enclosure of one of his tigers to feed it and was fatally attacked. The incident came nearly six years after another tiger on his property seriously injured a 10-year-old boy.

Buwalda was an exotic-animal enthusiast who served as chairman of the Canadian Exotic Animal Owners’ Association. Contemporary reports described him as keeping large cats, including tigers and lions, on his rural Ontario property.

The animals were housed in substantial enclosures, but their presence worried some nearby residents. Those concerns eventually developed into a long-running debate over whether animals capable of seriously injuring people should be privately kept in the community.

The controversy intensified in June 2004 when a 10-year-old boy was seriously injured by a Siberian tiger on Buwalda’s property. Contemporary reports said the tiger had been brought out of its enclosure on a leash so the child and his family could take photographs.

The animal lunged and attacked the boy, leaving him with serious head and neck injuries. No criminal charges were brought against Buwalda, who was legally permitted to possess the animals at the time.

After the 2004 incident, Southwold Township introduced a bylaw intended to prohibit the private keeping of dangerous exotic animals. Buwalda challenged the restriction rather than giving up his animals.

The legal challenge succeeded, and the bylaw was overturned. However, some later accounts incorrectly describe the case as a victory in the Supreme Court of Canada. Contemporary reporting supports saying that Buwalda defeated the township’s bylaw in court without making that more specific claim.

On January 10, 2010, Buwalda entered his tiger’s enclosure during feeding. Ontario Provincial Police said the animal attacked and killed him inside the enclosure.

There were no witnesses to establish exactly what triggered the encounter. A family member later discovered Buwalda and managed to isolate the tiger in another section of the enclosure before emergency services arrived.

Contemporary reports placed the tiger’s weight at approximately 650 to 660 pounds, or around 300 kilograms. Police also believed it was the same Siberian tiger involved in the attack on the child six years earlier.

The animal’s size illustrates the inherent risks involved in keeping a large wild cat. Tigers retain the physical capabilities and behavioral instincts of powerful predators regardless of how long they have lived around people.

Questions immediately emerged about what would happen to the tiger and the other exotic animals remaining on Buwalda’s property. Authorities initially said responsibility for deciding the animal’s future rested with the family and township.

By January 27, the tiger and two lions had been transported to an undisclosed location. Ontario Provincial Police subsequently confirmed that no exotic animals remained on the property.

Buwalda’s death renewed an existing debate in Ontario over the private ownership of potentially dangerous wildlife. The earlier attack on a child had already demonstrated that the consequences could extend beyond the animal’s owner.

The case also illustrates an important distinction between an animal being legally owned and an animal being domesticated. Tigers remain wild predators with tremendous physical capabilities, and familiarity with an individual animal cannot eliminate the risks associated with close contact.