Gorilla death in Cincinnati a reminder that Canadian zoos have firepower, too

The shooting death of a silverback gorilla at the CincinnatiZoo earlier this weekafter a three-year-old boy fell into the ape's enclosurehas raised questions about what protocols and toolsCanadian zoos have at their disposal to handle a similar situation.

The 17-year-old, 180-kilogramwestern lowland gorilla namedHarambe was killed by a special response team after it was decided that the toddler's life was indanger, though there are conflicting accounts about whatHarambe'strue intentions may have been.

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Tranquillizing Harambe was not an option, since most tranquillizers take several minutes to work and can induceviolent behaviour.

Avideo of the incident prompted indignation across the internet and set offa debate about whether it was really necessary to killHarambe (there are conflicting interpretations ofwhat is actually going on in the video). The incident also reignited a decades-old debate about zoos and whether their educational value outweighs the negative impacts on animal welfare.

Endangered gorilla shot dead at Cincinnati zoo

8 years ago

Duration 2:41

Officials killed gorilla after a 4-year-old fell into exhibit moat

"I think that event,that very sad event, really should be looked at as a teachable moment for accredited zoos," saidMassimo Bergamini,executive director of Canada's Accredited Zoos and Aquariums.

"I think we have to look at our procedures. We have to look at what went wrong, understand, make sure it doesn't happen again. On the flip side, it has created a debate, and debates are good."

Weapons training

Toronto City Coun. Glenn De Baeremaeker, a member of the Toronto Zoo board of directors, hasalready said the incident in Cincinnati would prompt additionalchecks of the zoo's enclosures.

While multiple zoos declined to givespecific details of their plans for dealing with breaches of animal enclosuresbecause ofthe "sensitivity of the situation" (as oneToronto Zoo employee put it),there are protocols in place to deal with events similar to the one that occurred at the Cincinnati Zoo.

"It'snot like all staff carry weapons," said Dale A.Smith, a professor atthe Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph.

"There are always security staff in place that would carry weapons, and they have to undergo weapons training. In some situations, veterinariansmight also carry a weapon if the situation calls for it."

No legitimate zooor animal operationwould operate withoutsafety proceduresin place, she said.

Ultimately, if a zoo has dangerous animals, it needs to have a lethal option on hand in order to guarantee the safety of the humans working andvisiting there, Smith said.

Tigers out!

The U.S. Association of Zoos and Aquariums told local media that the Cincinnati Zoo handled the breach of the gorilla enclosure correctly.Spokesman Rob Vernon said the association's accreditation procedure requires members to conduct four safety drills peryear and to have a response plan in place for dangerous animals.

Smith said Canadian zoos would have similar "dry-run drills" andescaped-animal protocols.

"[It's]a bit like a fire drill," she said."Somebody will call out on the radio, 'Tigers out!' and everyone has to know their roles. The senior staff might know it's a drill, but the junior staff certainly don't."

The Cincinnatiincident, Smith says, is likely to refuel the debate about the valueof zoos for research, conservation and education.

Some enthusiasts, such as celebrity zookeeper andTV personality Jack Hanna, have argued zoos are essential for education and create an emotional connection betweenpeople and animals. But there is a growing movement pushing toclose all zoos once and for all.

"I call them (conservation and education)the two great mythologies of modern zoos, and they're slowly being dismantled," saidRob Laidlaw ofZoocheck, a wildlife protection charity. "This whole idea that you see presented in zoos like Toronto that you know, we're going to captive breed animals and replenish their stocksin the wild it's largely a myth.

"Education is another great myth. You know, so many people say that our kids come, and they're educated, or visitors come, and they're educated, but there's really no evidence that that's happened. What you usually get in zoos are factoids that you can get on Googlein five minutes."