Posted on 01/05/2008 8:40:33 AM PST by Mr. Brightside
Published - Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Using ‘taunting’ as an excuse for tiger’s attack is pathetic
by Matt Johnson, managing editor
The oddest thing about this story is the spin some pundits are putting on it saying that the tiger was taunted to attack the humans.
What planet are we living on?
A zoo, any zoo, should have as rule No. 1 -- There’s no possible way any animal in the zoo can harm a visitor.
Blaming people for taunting animals at a zoo is insanity. I’ve been to a zoo or two in my day and at every turn people are either taunting or enticing animals.
Five years ago, I remember going to the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison and going through the great ape area. A zoo official was frantically telling everyone “Turn your back to the orangutan!” as we walked through. Apparently somebody had taunted the orangutan and it was freaking out.
Back to the tiger tragedy -- what a cop out -- “Oh, they taunted the tiger, that’s what caused the incident.”
According to the Associated Press, “San Francisco Zoo Director Manuel A. Mollinedo acknowledged that the wall around the animal's pen was just 12 1/2 feet high, after previously saying it was 18 feet. According to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the walls around a tiger exhibit should be at least 16.4 feet high...
“She had to have jumped," he said. "How she was able to jump that high is amazing to me.’”
Amazed? Mollinedo should be ashamed.
Negligence on the part of the zoo that didn’t have a proper-sized safety zone between the animal and spectators was the cause.
(Excerpt) Read more at vernonbroadcaster.com ...
In the meantime, they are destroying all evidence with "reconstruction".
opinions are like...do I really need to finish?
What dumb comments by this writer. Typical liberal drivel, personal responsibility means nothing, the system should provide all.
“Blaming people for taunting animals at a zoo is insanity. I’ve been to a zoo or two in my day and at every turn people are either taunting or enticing animals.”
Hmmmm.... You’re not supposed to do that, though, right?
This is the first publication I have seen that puts the blame squarely where it should be- on the zoo’s shoulders.
Unless the boys aided the tiger’s escape, the zoo is fully responsible.
The writer has a point, but the young men involved seem to represent an extreme case.
It is a crime (actually a misdemeanor) in most jurisdictions to tease zoo animals. It’s a law that needs to be vigorously enforced.
The zoo is responsible even though the victims were idiots.
Yep
“The zoo is responsible even though the victims were idiots.”
Why? And where do you draw the line? How stupid do you allow people to be before you stop asking businesses and institutions to always be responsible for people’s irresponsible actions?
More importantly, the zoo is not supposed to let its animals out. The only thing we know is that the boys ‘roared’ at the cats in the zoo.
Shouldn’t the zoo be held responsible if the bald eagle escaped and scrated out the eyes of a boy who yelled, “Kaw! Kaw!”?
Shouldn’t the zoo be held responsible if their wolf escaped and attacked a visitor after someone “howled” toward the animal?
Amen. This is my opinion exactly. The people who bear the responsibility are the people running the zoo. Suppose a young child had done something that annoyed this tiger. The zookeepers are responsible for keeping the animals secure, no matter what. Anyone taunting an animal should be escorted out of the zoo without refund. But the zoo should be prepared for those situations.
“unless the ‘boys’ aided the tiger’s escape, the zoo is fully responsible.”
How the hell do you know? Were you there? Do you know even 10% of what really happened there?
Are we going to arrest every kid who taps on the glass tying to get the rattlesnake to strike?
Do you know what the word 'unless' means?
How about the irresponsible actions on the part of the people at the zoo?
The documents they provided to the AZA's safety inspectors stated that the wall was four feet higher than it actually was.
You are correct.
What could be the zoo’s defense? “Our enclosures safe and secure... as long as the wild animals never get agitated.”
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