Harambe’s Death: Searching For Answers

On Saturday, May 28th, at the Cincinnati Zoo, a 4-year-old boy climbed past the protective fence separating visitors from the habitat of a 17-year-old western lowland gorilla named Harambe. After passing the fence, the boy fell 10 to 12 feet into a shallow moat and spent about 10 minutes with Harambe before zoo officials shot and killed the gorilla. The boy was taken to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and later that evening was released to go home.

In the wake of this tragedy, there are many questions that arise, but the most important one is: how do we prevent something like this from happening again? Many people fault the zoo for the lack of a proper barrier or for killing, rather than tranquilizing Harambe. A good number of people blame the boy’s mother for being inattentive. However, the one indisputable fact is that if there were no zoos, then this situation would never have arisen.

With that in mind, it is important to ask another question: do zoos serve a purpose in today’s world? And if ever there were a reason for zoos to exist, that reason is most certainly no longer valid. Want to learn about animals? Watch a documentary and see them in their natural habitat. An endangered species needs protecting? Build a sanctuary or designate a wildlife refuge. In the end, there is no justifiable reason for the existence of zoos.

Additionally, the damage caused by zoos is not limited to only the animals themselves. Zoos also reinforce the possessive and controlling side of humanity by maintaining the perspective that humans hold dominion over the natural world. And if we can justify treating animals this way, is it not too difficult to extend that same mindset to people, be they of a specific race, gender, or other attribute that can be exploited by those in power? It’s obstacles like these that stand in the way of the human race living in harmony with our planet as well as ourselves.

So let’s take a step toward living in a better world by eliminating zoos. This can be done in many ways, but quite possibly the most effective is by simply boycotting them. Zoos exist because there is a demand for them. If that demand disappears, then one by one, zoos will be forced to close their doors. #NoMoreZoos #Harambe

If you want to show your support for this boycott, please click on this link and then sign the petition: change.org/p/remember-harambe-wildlife-shouldn-t-be-caged-boycott-all-zoos