Chinese legal experts are voicing contradictory opinions in a heated debate over whether zoos should be held responsible when visitors ignore safety reminders. This question has arisen after a fatal tiger attack in Beijing on July 23.

Details revealed about the tragedy

After jumping out of a car in an attempt to save her daughter from a tiger attack, a woman was mauled to death by a Siberian tiger at Badaling Wildlife World. Her daughter was severely injured, CCTV reported. The tragedy occurred in a section of the park that permits visitors to drive their own vehicles through a Siberian tiger enclosure.

Footage released by CCTV shows the first woman getting out of the passenger seat of a car and walking over to the driver's side. The driver of the car was later reported to be the woman's husband. As the driver opens his door, the woman is suddenly grabbed from behind by a tiger and forcefully dragged away. The video then shows the driver and a second woman rush to the first woman's aid before a green Jeep arrives at the scene.

The rest happened off screen, but Xinhua News Agency reported that the second woman was mauled to death as she tried to rescue her injured daughter.

The video footage also captured an agreement signed by all visitors to that section of the park, warning them to "lock the doors and windows" and "never get out of the car in areas that are open to the animals." 

The agreement states that for any injuries or damage to cars due to violations of the regulations, involved visitors should take relevent responsibilities, Xinhua reported.

According to Wang Shuqin, a spokesperson for the Yanqing Bureau of Landscaping and Forestry, the jeep that showed up in the video after the attack was a safety patrolling vehicle.

“Zookeepers in the jeep used a loudspeaker to warn the young woman not to get out as soon as they spotted her trying to exit the vehicle. She hesitated but still stepped out,” Wang told Xinhua.

Opinions divided: Is the wildlife park responsible?

In an interview with china.com.cn, Zhu Wei, a law professor from China University of Political Science and Law, said that the zoo should not be in any way liable, and that the visitors should bear full responsibility. Zhu cited article 81 in chapter 10 of the Tort Law of the People’s Republic of China, which was adopted on December 26, 2009.

The article says: “if damage to others is caused by zoo animals, the zoo shall bear tort liability unless it can prove the fulfillment of its management responsibilities.”

A witness of the accident, surnamed Wu, said that the zoo had warning posters as well as repetitive broadcasts cautioning visitors to take proper safety measures, china.com.cn reported. The last bit of video footage indeed show a sign that read, “cherish your life, and don’t get out of the car.”

“The video shows that the woman got out despite of all kinds of written and broadcast warnings. From this perspective, the zoo fulfilled its responsibilities, and should therefore be spared liability,” Zhu said.

However, some legal experts believe that both the victim and the zoo should shoulder some of the legal responsibility. Zhang Qihuai, a researcher at China University of Political Science and Law, said the so-called exemption agreements between the zoo and visitors were not legitimate. He cited articles 40 and 52 of China’s contract law, which says: “a contract is invalid if it excludes one party's liability for personal injury caused to the other party.”

Zhang Xinnian, a lawyer from Beijing, said that despite all the warnings, malfeasance of management played a role in the tragedy.

“In an environment filled with tigers, a regular car cannot be deemed a safe shelter. What’s more, the zoo managers should have been prepared to protect visitors under any circumstances, like if a vehicle lost control and broke its windows, or if an engine broke down, or if a visitor had a medical emergency,” Zhang said.

The zoo, which is near a famous section of the Great Wall in Beijing’s Yanqing district, has had serious safety problems before. In March, a park employee was killed by an elephant. A security guard who stepped out of a patrol vehicle was killed by a tiger in 2014. In 2009, an 18-year-old was killed by a tiger in the park after he scaled a fence to enter the animals’ enclosure, Xinhua reported.

The Beijing Tourism website says that the park is famous for "raising fierce animals in large groups in open areas," and that it has 10,000 wild animals, including brown bears, Malayan Sun bears, leopards and wild wolves.

Xinhua reported that an investigation into the incident is underway, and that the zoo has been temporarily closed.