Who is to blame for gorilla’s death?

A ZOO in the USA caused a storm of outrage by shooting dead a gorilla after a four-yearold child got into its enclosure. More than 400,000 people have signed the petition calling for the parents of the boy to be charged with child neglect. We asked our Email Jury for their views on the situation and their opinions on zoos in general.

The parents should have kept their child under supervision. Children will stray but a zoo is not a place where vigilance can be relaxed. It must be stressful for the animals when visitors are noisy. Liz Kelly, Glasgow.

Maybe we should look at the whole idea of keeping animals in zoos and circuses. Gorillas are animals with the closest evolutionary relationship to humans. It can’t be right to incarcerate them like this. Stephen Calder, Peterhead.

I don’t understand why a tranquilliser dart was not used rather than shooting the gorilla dead. I feel the parents must accept some responsibility, but I cannot imagine how they felt seeing their child in the hands of a gorilla! Irene Allison, Airdrie.

If the zoo had installed proper security, no child would have been able to access the enclosure. They advised that a tranquillising dart would have taken 10 minutes to work during which time a little life may have been lost. A sad situation but the authorities acted in the best interests of the child. Damned if they did and damned if they didn’t. Irene Thomson, Perth.

Both the zoo officials and the child’s parents are to blame. Ronald James, Kirriemuir.

The boy and his parents are to blame. The zoo had no choice but to shoot the gorilla. James Strachan, Aberdeenshire.

The gorilla was the innocent party in all of this but he is the one who paid the penalty. All endangered species should be taken out of zoos. Tom Johnston, Ayrshire.

What was the alternative to the zoo shooting the gorilla? They are wild animals and no-one could predict how it would react. Bea Smith,

Doncaster.

The enclosure should have been secure. However, there are plenty of well-run zoos who have breeding programmes for endangered species. Fiona Reid, Forfar.

I’m starting to disapprove of animals being away from their natural habitat. Lorraine Anderson, Edinburgh.