The internet is abuzz with a tragic event that transpired
just this Saturday when a 4-year-old boy tumbled into a Gorilla enclosure at a
Zoo located in Cincinnati, Ohio. The
event brewed major controversy across the world when a 17-year-lb 450 lb
innocent male Gorilla was executed by zoo employees in order to save the life
of the 4-year-old boy and return him safely to his mother.
It’s hard to put tip the scale on which life carried more
value. A boy’s or that of an innocent Gorilla, and the proper course of action
that really should have been taken.
Animal rights activists and lovers are voicing their opinions loudly in
the favor that the animal meant the child no harm, and in a previous case in
the late 90s, when a similar event occurred, the Gorilla cradled the child
until the employees retrieved the child and returned him safely to his
mother. As a result, they feel that the
animal was killed unjust-fully, and it could have simply been tranquilized
instead of executed. However, on the other side of the table, another group
debates that Gorilla’s can be dangerous beasts and could have easily
dismembered or killed the little boy, and that no risk should have been
taken. They cite that the gorilla
viciously dragged the child through the water, and when tranquilizing the
gorilla, the child could have been gravely hurt if the gorilla became alarmed.
The Cincinnati Zoo Director Thane Maynard released a
statement on Facebook:
“We are
heartbroken about losing Harambe, but a child’s life was in danger and a quick
decision had to be made by our Dangerous Animal Response Team… Tranquilizers do
not take effect for several minutes and the child was in imminent danger. On
top of that, the impact from the dart could agitate the animal and cause the
situation to get much worse.”
There has been backlash in public opinion regarding the
4-year-old boy’s mother Michelle Gregg, who are blaming her as cause of an
innocent gorilla’s death, in addition her negligence could have caused grave
harm to her son or worse in this tragic event.
The mother of released a statement on Facebook which has now been
deleted:
God
protected my child until the authorities were able to get to him. My son is
safe and was able to walk away with a concussion and a few scrapes… no broken
bones or internal injuries. As a society we are quick to judge how a parent
could take their eyes off of their child and if anyone knows me I keep a tight
watch on my kids. Accidents happen…”
A group calling themselves
“Justice for Harambe” argues that the zoo should not be the ones to
blame, yet the mother herself whom should have been more responsible for her
son’s safety and thus held accountable for her actions. The group is rallying
people worldwide and launching an official investigation into her parenting
skills at home in order to determine the level of parental negligence, and if
she’s fit to mother her son. On their Facebook page they have made the
following statement attached to the petition:
We the
undersigned want the parents to be held accountable for the lack of supervision
and negligence that caused Harambe to lose his life. We the undersigned feel
the child’s safety is paramount in this situation. We believe that this
negligence may be reflective of the child’s home situation. We the undersigned
actively encourage an investigation of the child’s home environment in the
interests of protecting the child and his siblings from further incidents of
parental negligence that may result in serious bodily harm or even death.”
Jack Hanna, a well known animal expert is taking the side of
the zoo official’s decision to end Harambe’s life in order to save the boy’s
life. In the video below, Hannah, the
Director Emeritus of the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium, discusses why killing the
Harambe the gorilla was the right thing to do.
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