Zookeeper Mauled in Mexico

​www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/zookeeper-mauled-death-lion-forgot-12212980

A 28 year old zookeeper in Mexico was mauled to death by a lion this week after forgetting to lock the enclosure when he entered to clean it. When zookeepers found him, he was already dead after having been bit on the neck by the lion. This is extremely unfortunate news and I feel absolutely awful for the family of this zookeeper. Now, this once again begs the question, are zoos truly safe enough for the animals and workers within its walls?

This is NOT the first story I've commented on involving someone being killed at a zoo. In the past year, I've documented at least 4 cases of workers or pedestrians being killed by animals after either entering the enclosure, or forgetting to lock it up. What's especially sad in this case is that the zoo had just completed upgrading the big cat's enclosure with added security and a taller perimeter fence. Sounds great in theory but evidently, it was not enough. 

Human error is totally acceptable and normal. In any job you take, there are situations that could arise from making a mistake much like this zookeeper did. When we take a job, we accept that mistakes could potentially lead to harm or in this case death, so long as we are aware and know what precautions to take, it is ultimately our responsibility to ensure that any of those things don't happen. Fair enough right? 

When it comes to situations that could potentially put our own lives AND the lives of the animals we care for at risk, I don't believe human error should be something that is even allowed. In every instance of an accident like this, the animal is always at risk of being shot & killed in an effort to save the human being attacked. This ultimately puts both lives at risk over something like forgetting to lock an enclosure. Although it seems trivial because mistakes happen in every job, these kinds of mistakes that are so small and easy to make can ultimately lead to some seriously devastating consequences. This is exactly why I've repeatedly said that zoos are not doing enough to protect their workers / the animals they house.

As I mentioned earlier, the zoo had recently upgraded the enclosure the worker was attacked in. This frustrates me to no end because I have repeatedly called for electronic locks on all enclosures. Having electronic locks that automatically lock upon the door shutting would prevent these sorts of awful situations from happening. In both cases of a zookeeper being mauled, their small error costed them their lives and essentially put the lives of the animals that attacked them at risk. This should not even be allowed to happen and considering it is happening far too often, these zoos should be doing a hell of a lot more to protect themselves, their workers, and the animals.

Housing wild animals that will instinctively attack us if given the opportunity calls for special sorts of protections. Why would there even be an opportunity for this to happen? Zoos have a responsibility to ensure the utmost safety of all parties within its walls and by leaving the opportunity for this sort of human error to happen, they're essentially failing to protect their employees and the animals. This is not acceptable by any means!

Is it time to shut down zoos? Perhaps, but realistically, that isn't going to happen, (anytime soon) especially when you consider the amount of animals facing extinction in the wild. One day, zoos might be the only hope for repopulating the big cat, elephant, and giraffe populations. With that being said, I definitely think it's time for a call to action with every zoo out there. Safety and security NEED to be the number one priority across the board to prevent accidents like this.

Enough with manual locking which puts workers at risk. Upgrade to electronic and automatic locking systems to protect workers and animals alike. These situations ARE happening and ARE preventable with the right system in place. Enough with cheap upgrades that do nothing to protect workers / animals, it's time for more. Here's to hoping that zoos will start to learn from these mistakes and begin upgrading their facilities to make them the safest they can be.


What are your thoughts?

HAPPY VEG