Group of World Famous Animals
Is Killed By Some Stupid Humans

To call it a wave of killings would be an exaggeration. To see it as trending, too perverse to bear. But the spate of killings of iconic animals around the world does have a sinister bend to it, beyond the cruelty that garden-variety sadists usually inflict to them.
A rhino, a flamingo, a hippo, among others, all beloved and popular, have met unexplainable, atrocious fates in the past months. Even if one of them survived the injuries, the brutal attacks some have endured can only be classified as pure bestiality.
That’s why whenever an abuser is sentenced to a rare stiff punishment, there’s discreet celebration. For it goes against the grain: the norm is for them to walk unencumbered, like the dentist who shot Cecil, the Lion, or for people to ignore ethical qualms about slaughtering animals.
News coverage is usually mired in hypocrisy and selective morals. Case in point: the N.Y. Times story on Indonesians’ taste for dog meat, published the other week, which seemed to misplace the outrage on the fact that they like to eat what Westerners consider pets.
The biggest producers of industrialized animal products are not in Asia, but in the U.S., Europe and South America. And despite scandals, poor sanitary conditions, labor violations, and corruption, the environment and healthier alternatives to address world hunger are hardly covered.
The string of unrelated incidents renews calls for a radical change in the approach to crimes against the defenseless. Specially when them are used as a political prop, as was the case in at least one instance. Anyone should be liable for the carcasses their endeavors leave behind.

DOGS KILL LEOPARD & SNIPER KILLS DOG
In Namibia, known for its efforts to protect its wild life, a group trapped a leopard they considered a threat, and helped a pack of dogs maul it to death. Now there’s a global petition demanding that, if not a similar punishment to be exacted onto the culprits, at least, swift justice.
As for what happened to Grizz, it’s unfortunate but not exactly cruel. Two weeks ago, the in-training explosive-detector collie puppy at the Aukland Airport, in New Zealand, got loose on the runaway, freaked out, and failed to respond to couching and return to safety.
After three hours of flight delays, with pilots refusing to take off and risk an accident, a police marksman was called in and put an end to the worst day of his short life. It was an involuntary heartbreaking experience, and even crusty Aussie cops got tear-eyed.

PRAGUE FLAMINGO & THE AUSCHWITZ SHEEP
It’s hard to imagine why anyone would want to hurt, let alone, to massacre to death, a pink flamingo. In beautiful Prague, no less. And even worse, that three boys, age 6, 8, and 10, did it. But children can be cruel too, and parents, if around, are liable for what they do.
The killing is a big red flag, since some research confirmed that psychopaths and serial killers use animals as their training grounds. Intervention may help too. As for the 16-year-old bird, (more)
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father of generations, he was a majestic presence at the Jihlava Zoo. R.I.P.
The dubious honor of most bizarre incident of animal abuse had some elements that many saw as redeeming qualities, but not us: a nudist group unfolded and hung a Love banner as a protest act, at the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp gates.
In our book, what they reportedly did next invalidates everything, though: like an obscurantist cult, they’ve slaughtered a sheep to mark the occasion. Why? Because they unfortunately could. And deserve to rot in jail for that, not for protesting. Love has nothing to do with it.

THE WHITE RHINO & GUSTAVITO, THE HIPPO
Poachers broke into an enclosure and killed a rare white rhino, named Vince, for his horn. But it happened at the Thoiry Zoo, just 40 miles from Paris, not Africa. Even if the still at large killers had staged their cold-bloodied stunt in Pluto, though, it still would never be Ok.
Almost as out of character, and similarly heartless, was the stabbing and bludgeoning to death of arguably the most popular animal of this bunch, Gustavito, the El Salvadoran hippo. Apparently, a gang mistook him for another small time drug dealer, who are routinely murdered daily in the streets of the Central American nation.
He grew up at the Zoo Nacional and was a national treasure, beloved by school children, in a country that doesn’t have enough of either. We’re usually biased against public displaying wild life, but Gustavito helped raise awareness about protecting animals.
Ironically, he fell victim to exactly the same brutish mentality that renders beautiful beasts as him to toys for cowards, in this case, armed with ice picks. We hope they get caught but we doubt it (see American dentist, Cecil, etc, etc) Still we mourn the passing of this and many other gentle creatures, we don’t need to meet to admire.