Illegal tiger removed from garden shed after WiggyTinkles staff member kept it as a ‘personal project’

A tiger has been removed from a garden shed in Haddenham after a member of staff at WiggyTinkles, the wildlife hospital, was found to have been keeping it there for what she described to inspectors as “a personal project, nothing to do with work, strictly a hobby". Investigators believe the member of staff had been trying to cross-breed the animal with several labradoodles that had unfortunately met a grizzly end. The animal, believed to be around four years old, was discovered during a routine inspection by the landlord.

WiggyTinkles confirmed the staff member, who has worked at the animal fertility unit for eleven years and was, until this week, “extremely well thought of,” has been suspended pending an internal review. The medical facility clarified that the tiger was “never, at any point, an approved patient,” and does not appear on any of its official intake paperwork, case notes, or, a spokesperson confirmed after checking twice, its Christmas card list.

Neighbours described noticing “an unusual amount of raw chicken” being delivered weekly, and a smell which several had independently attributed to “the badgers,” a theory the street had apparently held, without evidence, for some time. “In hindsight, obviously, that's a lot of chicken for badgers,” said one resident. “At the time it just felt rude to ask.”

A spokesperson for the hospital said staff are trained to handle a wide range of wildlife, “but a tiger is, obviously, outside of that range, and always has been, and this has been made very clear in every induction since 2009.” Asked whether that induction had specifically named tigers, the spokesperson confirmed it had, “after an unrelated incident in 2009 that we're not going to get into here.”

The tiger has been transferred to a specialist facility, where it is reportedly settling in well and has, according to keepers, “very quickly worked out which one of us is soft.”

The suspended staff member declined to comment beyond a short statement describing the tiger as “extremely gentle, contrary to what people are saying, and honestly better company than most people in this village,” a line WiggyTinkles' board has asked her, through solicitors, not to repeat.