The mother giraffe, called  Zola, from Belo Horizonte Zoo (southeast of Brazil) , which has been highlighted in the media by its tragic news, was found dead on Sunday ( 18 ) prematurely.

As always, the first news is that there was no explanation, since the 17-year-old giraffe was healthy. Later, it started the different versions: an acute pulmonary edema, cardiac arrest, etc. As in the case of the stone that a chimp threw against a father and his baby – the zoo gave an doubtful explanation that the incident was caused by the  struggle between father and son chimpanzees  – now the zoo found another explanation to take the responsibility out of the direction of the facility and the Mayor, who supports it.

Investigating the mental status of the animals will, perhaps, lead to the answer. From a zoo that does not care about the stress level of its animals, allowing an International Marathon to cross its dependencies, any result can be expected on the emotional state of the animals that live there in that concentration camp, as local NGO Mineiro Animal Rights Movement qualifies.

For how long we will watch the death of innocent beings exploited for entertainment of the public? People from Minas Gerais have the word.

Dr. Pedro A. Ynterian

President , GAP Project International