€25k for boy who saw infant sister grabbed and shaken by zoo animal

A 10-year-old schoolboy, who witnessed a horror attack on his toddler sister by a Brazilian tapir at Dublin Zoo and saw his parents injured in a bloody fight to save their daughter’s life, has been awarded €25,000 in the Circuit Civil Court.

Ruari Owens, who is now aged 15, saw the female tapir, which had earlier given birth to a calf, lift his two-year-old sister, Katie, in its mouth and violently shake her, causing her serious injury.

Katie’s parents Daragh Owens and his wife, Patricia, bravely fought off the crazed animal and were themselves injured in the horrendous attack that took place in Dublin Zoo in the Phoenix Park on August 8, 2013.