I think the zoo had no alternative. Suddenly, everyone on social media is a gorilla expert after reading an article or two and have decided that the gorilla was in fact 'protecting the child'. Is this the same way killer whales are just 'playing' with seals (before they tear them to shreds?). Unfortunately we'll never know what the gorilla may or may not have done, but how could the zoo have possibly allowed the gorilla to drag the child out of sight and just hope he would come to no harm?
And suddenly everyone is fully anti-zoo...until their next visit, after this whole incident has blown over and retreated into the e-void along with Cecil the lion and any other recent outrages. I'm from Ireland, and Dublin Zoo and Fota Wildlife Park in Cork are two of the best conservation organisations in Europe. People seem to suddenly be of the opinion that zoos send teams into the wild to catch and bag animals to bring them back for our amusement. The reason it's an 'attraction' is to help fund the conservation efforts. You're donating without having the stigma of charity involved.
I was in Belfast Zoo recently and they had three elephants. My girlfriend noted how the one closest to us was bobbing its head in a peculiar fashion. It wasn't something we had witnessed before. We read the info sheet at the enclosure, which said that all three elephants had been rescued from one or more circuses. The bobbing was a result of their maltreatment. Animals such as these would have no quality of life if released into the wild. I know not every case is as extreme as this. Other animals may be in zoos as part of breeding programmes. You could argue that if a species is heading towards extinction then we should not interfere, except I'm sure human activity is responsible for more than it's fair share of animal endangerment.
However, there are certainly poorly maintained zoos too, which are badly in need of stricter regulations. Rome zoo is (was, back in 2010/2011, at least) an appalling sight. We watched one visitor step over the 'fence' (a single metallic wire strung between wooden posts) and produce some fruit which she was able to stretch her hand out to feed an elephant. There was a 10-15ft ditch between them, which the elephant could easily have fallen in to. A monkey enclosure also appeared to be dangerously overcrowded. We left after less than an hour.
And suddenly everyone is fully anti-zoo...until their next visit, after this whole incident has blown over and retreated into the e-void along with Cecil the lion and any other recent outrages. I'm from Ireland, and Dublin Zoo and Fota Wildlife Park in Cork are two of the best conservation organisations in Europe. People seem to suddenly be of the opinion that zoos send teams into the wild to catch and bag animals to bring them back for our amusement. The reason it's an 'attraction' is to help fund the conservation efforts. You're donating without having the stigma of charity involved.
I was in Belfast Zoo recently and they had three elephants. My girlfriend noted how the one closest to us was bobbing its head in a peculiar fashion. It wasn't something we had witnessed before. We read the info sheet at the enclosure, which said that all three elephants had been rescued from one or more circuses. The bobbing was a result of their maltreatment. Animals such as these would have no quality of life if released into the wild. I know not every case is as extreme as this. Other animals may be in zoos as part of breeding programmes. You could argue that if a species is heading towards extinction then we should not interfere, except I'm sure human activity is responsible for more than it's fair share of animal endangerment.
However, there are certainly poorly maintained zoos too, which are badly in need of stricter regulations. Rome zoo is (was, back in 2010/2011, at least) an appalling sight. We watched one visitor step over the 'fence' (a single metallic wire strung between wooden posts) and produce some fruit which she was able to stretch her hand out to feed an elephant. There was a 10-15ft ditch between them, which the elephant could easily have fallen in to. A monkey enclosure also appeared to be dangerously overcrowded. We left after less than an hour.
