Man Mauled By Black Leopard After Paying $150 For ‘Full Contact Experience’

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Exotic animal breeder Michael Poggi

A Florida man wanted a ‘full contact experience’ with a large cat — and well — he got one! Oh, and he paid $150 for that experience.

Dwight Turner is suing “real estate investment expert and exotic animal breeder” Michael Poggi after claiming he was mauled inside an enclosure built behind his home.

In the paperwork, it would appear that Turner paid $150 to Poggi in order to enter the big cat’s enclosure and “play with it, rub its belly and take pictures.

The cat went straight for the victim’s head, biting his skull; the report states his scalp was left “hanging from his head and his right ear was torn in half.” Turner was hospitalized for a week and underwent multiple surgeries.

Authorities told the site Poggi (pictured with the leopard, above) was charged with allowing full contact with an extremely dangerous animal, and was cited for maintaining captive wildlife in an unsafe condition.

While Poggi is licensed to own the animal, he did admit wrong doing in this particular situation. Poggi’s Facebook page has since been deactivated; however his YouTube channel is still live, in which he flaunts the many rare and endangered animals he keeps at his home, and shows to the public.

His website also offers many of the animals for sale, primarily monkeys, including baby capuchins for $14,500; however the site warns on its landing page that buying the animals is illegal in 24 states. So if you are looking for an exotic animal – don’t…because they are not ‘pets’.

It’s best to leave wild animals in the wild. If wild animals must be held in captivity due to medical reasons or abandonment situations — leave it to the professionals.