The shooting of a gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo Saturday after a 4-year-old boy managed to slip into the animal’s exhibit has sparked outrage among animal right’s activists. Brittany Peet Deputy Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) says the zoo should have taken measures that might have saved the gorilla without endangering the boy
“If the zoo had implemented crowd control measures so that there wasn’t a crowd of people screaming at Harambe (the gorilla) – this is an animal, who in the wild, lives in a secluded mountain area. So this was clearly a terrifying situation for him, too. Ape experts have opined that Harambe was trying to protect the child from these screaming people. So I think zoo officials – one of the first things that they need to do when things like this occur – is have a team of people who are moving people away from the situation – so that it can be as calm as possible.”
Speaking with KABC’s Doug McIntyre and Terri-Rae Elmer, Peet refuted the notion that zoo’s benefit animals by providing the opportunity for people to appreciate animals that would otherwise only be encountered in the wild and in remote locations.
“There isn’t any evidence for that position. If zoos really want to support the conservation of animals in the wild then they should support the direct conservation of the natural lands of these animals. Children know more about dinosaurs than they know about elephants. They don’t need children to see elephants in zoos.”
She added that PETA does support sanctuaries for animals that cannot go back to the wild.
Peet was a guest on 790 KABC’s McIntyre in the Morning with Doug McIntyre and Terri-Rae Elmer.
By Sandy Wells
KABC News
