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'We'd make the same decision,' zoo director says of gorilla shooting

Re: RIP Harambe

Μολὼν λαβέ;1065912569 said:
Why wasn't the zoo prepared to tranquilize the gorilla? Isn't that how they deal with large animals that need medical attention?

They were. The reaction team had both tranquilizers and lethal means with them at the enclosure. The problem was because of his size and the heightened emotions it could rip the child apart when it was hit by a dart before it took effect. The president of the zoo clearly explained all this to the media and commended the reaction team for their decision no matter how hard it was to put down an endangered species.
 
Re: RIP Harambe

has anyone even mentioned a lawsuit or is this just the poor conservative victimhood thing?
Depends, are they conservative, if so that party is 100% to blame, second consideration is which party has the more money, it's unfair that they do so sue them. Doesn't matter how you figure it out, they should be to blame.
 
Re: RIP Harambe

has anyone even mentioned a lawsuit or is this just the poor conservative victimhood thing?

You've said blame, and blame means someone must pay. The law of SJ says the party with the most money should give to the poorer party.
 
Re: RIP Harambe

I hate zoos.

Caging animals/mammals against their will so humans can stare at them is not cool.

And no matter how nice the cage is, it's still a cage.

And save the 'the animals love it' nonsense. Unless the animals learn to actually speak, it is impossible for you to know they 'love it'.

I suspect it depends on the animal species. Predators can probably never reconcile themselves to captivity. Some prey animals, though, the ones who only move around in their natural ranges as much as necessary to feed themselves, might (might, yeah, I know) feel safe and secure in a well-designed zoo enclosure. And if it's a prey species that was born in captivity, well, it's exactly where it needs to be.
And that's not intended to be a defense of zoo breeding programs.
 
Re: RIP Harambe

The zoo had to make a hard choice. They have a dangerous animal reaction team. The team, who were there, not us safe in our houses, had to make a snap decision. After seeing the four year old dragged in the moat, the made the decision to use lethal force on the gorilla. I stand behind them on that decision. The zoo made a mistake in assuming that the animal enclosure was secure enough that a child couldn't get into it. They were wrong. The parents failed to keep their child with them. In the end the gorilla paid the price.

If this went to a civil case against the parents, there would be a counter suit against the zoo. The zoo should revisit their animal enclosures to make certain that a child can't fit between the lower bars.

I'm getting the death of the gorilla doesn't bother you at but personally, I would have preferred non lethal force. What did the gorilla do wrong?
 
Re: RIP Harambe

Domesticated pack animals are not comparable to wild animals kept in tiny enclosures that nowhere near resemble their true habitat.

I appreciate it's not the equivalent, but it is unquestioned that wild animals have, in captivity, acquired some of the same affinity to their handlers as domesticated animals have to their owners. While zoo keepers and assistants are ever cognizant of the dangers, they are very close to the animals they care for on a daily basis and those animals have also developed relationships with their keepers, particularly animals such as gorillas, the subject of this OP.
 
Re: RIP Harambe

Μολὼν λαβέ;1065912569 said:
Why wasn't the zoo prepared to tranquilize the gorilla? Isn't that how they deal with large animals that need medical attention?

Apparently the concern was that the tranquilizers take a certain amount of time to take effect and the child could have been seriously hurt or killed before the gorilla fully succumbed to the drugs.

But it seems to me, in hindsight, you should be able to shoot the gorilla with a tranquilizer and then, if the gorilla starts acting as a danger to the child, shoot it with real bullets.
 
Re: RIP Harambe

I'm getting the death of the gorilla doesn't bother you at but personally, I would have preferred non lethal force. What did the gorilla do wrong?

The on the scene reaction team had to make a judgement call. They believed that the child would be dead before a tranquilizer would have taken the animal down. They used lethal force.
 
Re: RIP Harambe

True, but you can make it very, very difficult for a young child to do. And if anyone could do it, you would think it would be a zoo. They know how to keep very intelligent animals IN who have their entire lives to work out an escape strategy. They should be able to figure ways to keep OUT children.



Yeah, that was tragic. A lot of the comments I read on that story said, "They should have just let the lions eat him". I don't know what the hell is wrong with people.

So a guy goes into an enclosure with the intent of being killed by the lion and between the two of them it's the lion that's at fault and deserves death?
 
Re: RIP Harambe

The on the scene reaction team had to make a judgement call. They believed that the child would be dead before a tranquilizer would have taken the animal down. They used lethal force.

Well, I just can't be as happy about that as you.
 
Re: RIP Harambe

So a guy goes into an enclosure with the intent of being killed by the lion and between the two of them it's the lion that's at fault and deserves death?

No. It has nothing to do with what the lion deserves. And no, it isn't the lion's fault. He is just being a lion. It is a value judgement. I value human life over non-human life.
 
Re: RIP Harambe

I agree-my late father would have been appalled-he was on the board of the zoo for decades. The mother needs to pay the Zoo for the cost of that poor slain Gorilla.

The zoo needs to fix the gaps in their fence to their animal enclosures.
 
Re: RIP Harambe

Two words: tranquilizer darts.
 
Re: RIP Harambe

They were. The reaction team had both tranquilizers and lethal means with them at the enclosure. The problem was because of his size and the heightened emotions it could rip the child apart when it was hit by a dart before it took effect. The president of the zoo clearly explained all this to the media and commended the reaction team for their decision no matter how hard it was to put down an endangered species.

Given the way the courts work now if there is a 1% chance the ape kills the kid after a tranquilizer you use a bullet. The liability would have run into the millions.
 
Re: RIP Harambe

The zoo needs to fix the gaps in their fence to their animal enclosures.

The human race has to do something about morons breeding
 
Re: RIP Harambe

Two words: tranquilizer darts.

according to the experts, that would have only enraged the animal and made things MORE dangerous for the child of the cretin
 
Re: RIP Harambe

Jack Hannah said it was the right thing to do, that he would bet his life that little boy wouldn't be here today if they had tranked the Gorrilla

Thats good enough for me.
 
Re: RIP Harambe

I value the life of the gorilla more than the child of parents who are too stupid to keep an eye on their child. Silverback gorillas are endangered and humans continue to breed unabated. How is it that this zoo has seen millions of patrons over the years but this one child was clever enough to bypass a barricade?

I've had two children and I totally understand that at that age, they can take off like lightning and get their hands into who knows what. That's why you never take your eyes off them.

I get it though... the zoo was liable no matter what because that's how U.S. law works, so they had to do something. It's just such a senseless tragedy. I don't blame the zoo keepers at all. They had limited options.
 
Re: RIP Harambe

I'm really torn about this, but at the end of the day, the zoo had no other choice but to kill the gorilla.

I guess both the zoo and the mother are at fault here when in comes to this situation.
 
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Re: RIP Harambe

I'm really torn about this, but at the end of the day, the zoo had no other choice but to kill the gorilla.

Great, but that is not where the thinking ends for me....was the zoo set up well? Where the parents reasonably minding their child? Were the other people in the area reasonably helping the child? Were zoo personnel on the scene with the right gear in a reasonable time?
 
Re: RIP Harambe

Great, but that is not where the thinking ends for me....was the zoo set up well? Where the parents reasonably minding their child? Were the other people in the area reasonably helping the child? Were zoo personnel on the scene with the right gear in a reasonable time?
From what I've gathered so far, the mother and the zoo both share the blame for this incident.
 
Re: RIP Harambe

Jack Hannah said it was the right thing to do, that he would bet his life that little boy wouldn't be here today if they had tranked the Gorrilla

Thats good enough for me.

Jack Hanna is pretty well respected around the world

the issue is did they need to kill the animal?

we know that a tranquilizer was NOT the right option

some are saying the Gorilla was not intending to harm the child

if there is a real POS in this story its the cretinous mother
 
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