Alana and I have always been known for being animal lovers around the office-- I've got two dogs, she's got two dogs and one cat.  That being said, with the difficult situation this weekend-- the killing of an endangered silverback gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo to save a 3-year-old boy's life-- we were forced to look at both sides of the argument. 

 

NOTE: In the video, I say that O'Connor is the mother who was taking video of the child.  O'Connor is not related to the child and the mother was not taking video.

It's taken me a while to realize how great zoos are-- while I used to think that they were restrictive and that any imprisonment of animals was a bad thing, I soon learned that zoos work hard to protect endangered species, learn more about certain animals, make the enclosures as comfortable for the animals as they can, and try to inform the public about the animals for further protection of the species.

However, this weekend, one zoo faced an incredible dilemma, where they had to decide whether or not to shoot and kill Harambe, a 17-year-old endangered silverback gorilla.

Many are chiding the mother for neglecting her child, and even using the hashtag #JusticeForHarambe to start a petition to make the mother accountable for the gorilla's death.

Some are mad at the Cincinnati Zoo for making what some believe to be the wrong decision in killing the animal.

In the video above, Alana and I discuss how hard it is to blame one side or the other, and yet we both agree that what happened was a terrible situation and, as animal lovers, we are mourning the death of Harambe.

What do you think? Leave a comment!

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