“The man who was attacked by a leopard is filing a lawsuit against the owners and operators of the animal sanctuary located behind a home in Davie. Dwight Turner, 50, was mauled just seconds after he ventured into the black leopard’s cage back on Aug. 31. ‘He went for the jugular, took [Turner’s] head in its mouth,’ said Steven Lander, Turner’s attorney. ‘The ear was pretty much removed.’ The victim paid $150 for a close contact experience with the leopard at the home on Earnest Boulevard. The fee was to play with and rub the animal’s belly.”
“Turner signed a release for the experience, but the Fish & Wildlife Conservation says such close contact is illegal, which voids that release. Officers have already cited Michael Poggi, who has a Facebook page detailing how he runs the sanctuary for rare and endangered animals. The victim’s attorney says the business let its insurance lapse. ‘He let a man into a cage, [with] no insurance,’ Lander said, noting that Turner will have ‘serious medical problems from here on out,’ including migraines and neurological damage” – WPLG.