Heartbreaking News! A Chimpanzee Escaped From The Attica Zoological Park In Greece & Was Tragically Shot & Killed Over The Weekend

The chimpanzee in the photo is not the one that was killed over the weekend.

WAN is heartbroken to report that a 27-year-old male chimpanzee was tragically shot and killed over the weekend after escaping from his enclosure at the Attica Zoological Park located outside of Athens, Greece.

“The Attica Zoological Park strikes again, killing another of its imprisoned slaves. No animal deserves such a life or such a death,” noted the Hellenic Animal Welfare Federation (PFO) in a post on its Facebook page.

The organization is referring to a similar case when two rare jaguars were also fatally shot by caretakers of the Attica Zoological Park in 2018. Hellenic Animal Welfare Federation (PFO) held a protest yesterday with 250 people in attendance calling for the closure of all zoos worldwide.

The organization’s post also included a video of the distraught animal prior to the senseless killing. Jean-Jacques Lesueur, the owner of the zoo, reportedly claimed that killing the chimpanzee was the only solution to the situation.

As per the organization, loudspeakers instructed everyone in the parking lot to sit in their cars while more than 20 people from the park staff attempted to catch the wayward chimpanzee who had climbed a three-meter pillar before escaping into the parking lot.

“The security protocol of the Park was immediately activated, the police were informed, the visitors were isolated, and the chimpanzee, with the coordinated movements of the security staff, in the presence of veterinarians, was taken to an isolated area on the perimeter of the Park, where it was deemed necessary to neutralize,” Attica Zoological said in a statement on its website. Neutralize?

Hellenic Animal Welfare Federation disagrees.

“They failed to catch the animal and “neutralized” it, as they said, explaining that they could not inject it anesthetically, as due to its volume it would take 15 minutes to take effect,” continued the post. “When the life of an animal is defined only by the usefulness it can have for humans, then their killing is justified by their exploiters.”

The Federation explained that this serves as yet another opportunity “to inform the world that wild animals in their cages live an unbearable life, suffering from anxiety, boredom, and other serious disorders associated with prolonged restraint.” It is also a sad reminder that these animals, and thousands like them, are still exploited economically under the pretext of their preservation for “the sole purpose of profiting entrepreneurs.”

An investigation will reportedly be conducted into how the chimpanzee escaped and whether his killing was justified.

WAN and Peace 4 Animals join the Hellenic Animal Welfare Federation, and animal advocates everywhere who believe there was no justification to kill this innocent chimpanzee who just wanted to be free from a life of enslavement in captivity.