Probe
follows international outrage over primate's death
A criminal
investigation has been launched following outcry over the shooting of an endangered gorilla at a US zoo after a three-year-old boy fell into its enclosure.
Cincinnati police have
said the investigation will focus on the actions of the boy’s parents and
family in the run-up to the incident in which the 450-pound primate, called
Harambe, was shot dead by zookeepers after he grabbed hold of the child - who
was previously reported as aged four.
The investigation is
not into the conduct of Cincinnati Zoo or its safety procedures.
Police said they were
taking a second look at possible criminal charges against Michelle Gregg and
Deonne Dickinson after initially saying no one had been charged.
A spokeswoman for the
department, Tiffaney Hardy, told CNN: "After the review,
we will determine if charges need to be brought forward.
"If it is
determined charges need to be brought forward, we would then discuss it with
the Hamilton County prosecutor's office."
Witnesses said the
unnamed boy, who was with his mother at the time of the incident, had expressed
a desire to get into the enclosure and climbed over the 3ft barrier, falling
15ft into the moat.
Zookeepers then shot
the the Western lowland silverback gorilla after he violently dragged and
tossed the child around.
Ms Gregg said on
Facebook that the boy suffered a concussion and scrapes but was otherwise fine.
She defended herself
against the criticism saying
“accidents happen”.
But the decision to
kill the animal rather than tranquilise provoked outrage around the world with
some blaming the boy’s parents for not keeping a closer eye on him.
Animal rights group
Stop Animal Exploitation has filed a negligence complaint against the zoo with
the US Department of Agriculture.
The group, which is
seeking the maximum penalty of $10,000 (£6,913), said in its complaint that the
child’s ability to get past the barrier was proof the zoo was negligent and
should be fined for a “clear and fatal violation of the Animal Welfare
Act”.
The open viewing area
in the gorilla enclosure was one of the first of its kind in the world but
is now common among many zoos across the country.
Cincinnati Zoo was at
the forefront of the movement away from cages and towards more realistic
exhibits behind glass walls.
The federal
investigators have said they will conduct their own investigation into the
incident but zoo director Thane Maynard insisted the “exhibit is safe, the
barrier is safe”.
He said it is the
first time a visitor has ever breached the Gorilla World exhibit since it first
opened in 1978 and a federal inspection two months ago found no problems with
it.
The zoo has explained
it shot the gorilla rather than use tranquilisers because tranquilisers would
take too long to take effect.
FROM THE DESK OF ANIMAL RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/cincinnati-gorilla-shooting-police-criminal-investigation-harambe-killing-parents-a7058981.html
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