Owner of tiger that attacked girl charged with falsifying paperwork

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The owners of a Racine exotic animal park have been charged with falsifying paperwork when they bought a Siberian tiger cub that later attacked a girl in 2001.

An indictment against Kenneth G. Kraft and his wife Nancy L. Kraft of Racine and Robert E. Baudy of Florida was unsealed on Tuesday, alleging that the three conspired to illegally trade the tiger. The indictment also names Baudy's business, Savage Kingdom, Inc.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, all three were arrested on Tuesday -- Ken Kraft in Racine, and Nancy Kraft and Baudy in Florida. All three later appeared in federal court.

According to the indictment, in October 1998 the Krafts bought the tiger from Baudy for $5,000. But on a federal form to document the transfer, Ken Kraft wrote that Como wasn't being sold but was on a "permanent breeding loan," which was not one of the three standard choices to describe the transaction, according to the indictment.

Kenneth Kraft and Baudy were also charged with creating a false record by claiming the tiger was loaned instead of sold.