Sad sad story
Ok, I read this on Yahoo!News and it really just kind of torqued my screws.
RUSSELS, Belgium - An animal lover was mauled to death by cheetahs after entering their cage at a zoo in northern Belgium, authorities and zoo officials said Monday.
Karen Aerts, 37, of Antwerp, was found dead in the cage, Olmense Zoo spokesman Jan Libot said. Police said they ruled out any foul play.
Authorities believe Aerts, a regular visitor to the zoo, hid in the park late Sunday until it closed and managed to find the keys to the cheetah cage.
"Karen loved animals. Unfortunately the cheetahs betrayed her trust," Libot said.
One of the cats that killed Aerts was named Bongo, whom the woman had adopted under a special program. She paid for Bongo's food, Libot said.
Animal rights group GAIA called for the immediate closure of the zoo, located 55 miles northeast of Brussels, saying it was unsafe for both visitors and the cats.
Rudy Demotte, the Belgian minister responsible for animal welfare, sent a team to investigate.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070212/ap_on_re_eu/belgium_cheetah_attack;_ylt=AmCrHZMLkFnpgAr2F1lyl8EPLBIF
And the Wilde Editorial?
What really upset me about this was the line that the cheetahs "betrayed her trust." Hello? We have a 37 year old woman who thought she could let herself into the big cat area of the zoo at night, and the cheetahs betrayed her? I admit that what happened was a tragedy; I'm sorry for her family, I'm sorry for the zoo, I'm really sorry this event happened...but seriously. Just because her grasp on reality was so tenuous that she apparently failed to remember that these are predatory cats and not house cats, that does not mean that the predators were in any way at fault. And, knowing the way the world works, there is always the chance they will now have to be destroyed because they have proved themselves "man-killers." It's sad, it's pathetic, it's heartbreaking, yes. But I hope this gal earned herself a Darwin award. Come on. She hid out there. She broke in. She tried to play with the cats. And the cats played hard.
Whoever she was, I'm sorry for her family. I'll be sorrier if they destroy the cheetahs, though. The world is always producing more people with either more hair than brains, or no grasp on reality, or who think that the laws of nature somehow don't apply to them. But cheetahs are not guaranteed nearly so easy a continued existence.
RUSSELS, Belgium - An animal lover was mauled to death by cheetahs after entering their cage at a zoo in northern Belgium, authorities and zoo officials said Monday.
Karen Aerts, 37, of Antwerp, was found dead in the cage, Olmense Zoo spokesman Jan Libot said. Police said they ruled out any foul play.
Authorities believe Aerts, a regular visitor to the zoo, hid in the park late Sunday until it closed and managed to find the keys to the cheetah cage.
"Karen loved animals. Unfortunately the cheetahs betrayed her trust," Libot said.
One of the cats that killed Aerts was named Bongo, whom the woman had adopted under a special program. She paid for Bongo's food, Libot said.
Animal rights group GAIA called for the immediate closure of the zoo, located 55 miles northeast of Brussels, saying it was unsafe for both visitors and the cats.
Rudy Demotte, the Belgian minister responsible for animal welfare, sent a team to investigate.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070212/ap_on_re_eu/belgium_cheetah_attack;_ylt=AmCrHZMLkFnpgAr2F1lyl8EPLBIF
And the Wilde Editorial?
What really upset me about this was the line that the cheetahs "betrayed her trust." Hello? We have a 37 year old woman who thought she could let herself into the big cat area of the zoo at night, and the cheetahs betrayed her? I admit that what happened was a tragedy; I'm sorry for her family, I'm sorry for the zoo, I'm really sorry this event happened...but seriously. Just because her grasp on reality was so tenuous that she apparently failed to remember that these are predatory cats and not house cats, that does not mean that the predators were in any way at fault. And, knowing the way the world works, there is always the chance they will now have to be destroyed because they have proved themselves "man-killers." It's sad, it's pathetic, it's heartbreaking, yes. But I hope this gal earned herself a Darwin award. Come on. She hid out there. She broke in. She tried to play with the cats. And the cats played hard.
Whoever she was, I'm sorry for her family. I'll be sorrier if they destroy the cheetahs, though. The world is always producing more people with either more hair than brains, or no grasp on reality, or who think that the laws of nature somehow don't apply to them. But cheetahs are not guaranteed nearly so easy a continued existence.