The story of the Hamilton zookeeper who was mauled to death by a Sumatran tiger headlined a few days ago.

A few days ago I was not surprised to hear some of the people involved were considering whether they should, as retribution I expect, kill this majestic tiger.

The day after the incident it was reported the zoo had decided not to kill the tiger because apparently males of that variety are too rare. Other than that of course, if it hadn’t been so damned endangered that is, well, it’s an eye for an eye – a life for a life…

This is the idiocy of the human race. We claim to be a civilised, logical, judicious and even, get this, a compassionate people; yet when people capture a wild animal and put it on display at a people-controlled zoo, when they remove this wild animal from its natural habitat with the intention of it working in with their people-related business aspirations, when these people then suddenly expect that this wild animal will relinquish its natural instincts and miraculously conform to the people-imposed regulations of zoo etiquette – but it doesn’t – these people are surprised.

…We are a terribly vindictive people. Despite people being to blame for the fact that the wild animal even had the chance to maim or kill one of their own, it seems our sense of arrogance that we can control everything easily overpowers our common sense. Ordinarily if a wild animal acted naturally in a zoo and killed its keeper other people would not hesitate in ending that wild animal’s life.

I am reminded of that old cliché of two wrongs not making a right and such – guess it doesn’t apply to grownups though.

As I see it this is one of the bigger injustices in the world but because wild animals struggle to articulate along the same channels as people, of course, they have no voice.

People trap wild animals, people put wild animals on display; people kill wild animals when they act like wild animals.

Article by Tim Walker

Edited by T Rapt Felign

Photography by Pussy Lover