Probably, this is what 17-year-old Harambe would be thinking up in the heaven who was shot and killed by zoo authorities to save a 4-year-old boy who fell into his enclosure. Harambe, a silverback gorilla born at Gladys Porter Zoo, Texas was later brought to Cincinnati last year for a breeding program. The western lowland silverback gorillas are one of the endangered species and there are only 100,000 in existence.


On May 28, 2016 when a child fell into his enclosure accidentally, it was unclear if Harambe was protective of the child or was aggressive towards him . The viral video on the internet shows Harambe dragging the child in the moat which could be dangerous for the child when he was being dragged by a 400 pounds animal. Even if he was trying to be protective, his massive body could be fatal for the little boy.

How did the child end up in the gorilla's enclosure? Were parents not paying enough attention to their child at the zoo? Was the child too eager to foresee the danger involved in crossing the fence and landing in gorilla's enclosure? The parents of the child have been shamed over the internet for letting this incident happen. Even the zoo authorities have decided to raise the fence so that the future accidents can be avoided. All we know is that the child ended up in a gorilla's home and Harambe was killed at his home.

Jerry Stones, who knew Harambe right from when he cut his umbilical cord, treated Harambe as one of his sons. He is also upset at Harambe's death but he chose not to give his opinion on the matter if the zoo authorities have done their best at the crucial time to save the child by killing Harambe. The 74-year-old started a Harambe Fund which will go to Gladys Porter Zoo where Harambe was born and raised. The funds will eventually be transferred to Mbeli Bai Study which works for the wildlife conservation.

Here is the instagram post from Gladys Porter Zoo when they transferred Harambe from Galdys Porter Zoo, Texas to Cincinnati zoo 20 months ago.

With a mixture of sad and happy feelings, we are preparing #Harambe, one of our #Silverback #WesternLowlandGorillas, for the journey to his new home. The #CincinnatiZoo and big, new adventures are waiting for you, big boy! We will miss Harambe but he is destined to continue #Moja's prolific legacy. Photos: Jim Smith, Patricia Scanlan (2), Natalie Lindholm (clockwise from top left) #gladysporterzoo #gpzanimals #gpz #newhome #gorilla

A photo posted by Gladys Porter Zoo (@gladysporterzoo) on Sep 18, 2014 at 2:51pm PDT

 
Captivity of animals is bad and is not justified in any case. Animals are captured in the zoos in the name of education, conservation and research. Animals know it better how to deal with their lives and space rather than us interfering in their habitat. It is not entertaining at all to see animals confined in a small space and doing tricks when asked by a master. They go through constant torture to entertain us at zoos and circuses even if they don't like. If we love our dogs and cats at home, why should we care less for the ones held captive in zoos and circuses. Let them roam free where they actually belong to.

On behalf of all the humans, I am sorry Harambe. You lost your life while being held captive in a place where you never belonged.

Our awful politics has claimed yet another life of a brave cop, Shaktiman. A 13 year old, a well trained police horse, succumbed to his injuries and died on April 20.

Shaktiman was beaten brutally during a rally on March 14 when BJP protesters clashed against police in Dehradun. Ganesh Joshi, a BJP MLA from Mussoorie, was accused of beating Shaktiman and was later arrested on public uproar. Animal activists including PETA wanted Government to take strict action against him for assaulting an animal and that too on duty.

A video going viral on the internet shows that Mr. Ganesh Joshi is beating Shaktiman with a stick. He and his family is still claiming that he is falsely accused of beating Shaktiman and has nothing to do with his death. He also claimed that Congress has rather conspired against him with Shaktiman's death and if he is found guilty, he is ready to cut his own leg. Mr. Ganesh Joshi is currently out on bail. If his leg will bring back a brave cop of Uttrakhand Mounted Police, he should do it immediately.

Shaktiman was constantly beaten on his hind legs with a stick due to which his leg suffered multiple fractures. Later, he was given prosthetic leg by the doctors who operated on him and provided their best efforts to treat him. He was being treated at the police lines and some policemen and an animal rights activists from US, Jamie Vaughan, were looking after him. He didn't respond well to the treatment and lost his battle of life after fighting bravely for 37 days.

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.
Mahatma Gandhi

What made BJP MLA to beat Shaktiman? Was Shaktiman responsible for not meeting or listening to BJP protesters' demands? Is there really no element of compassion when it comes to protesting? Was there no one else around when he was being beaten badly?

In a self-centered world, where most of us don't have time to think about fellow beings, it may be imprudent to even talk about animal rights. In India, Mr. Joshi who is out on bail after he was arrested that too on public outrage. Are the laws strict enough in India to spare animals from cruelty?

Let's have a look at what other cities of the world offer as penalties in animal cruelty cases:

Cities	Penalty
New York, US	Up to 5 years in prison and/or $5000 fine
Zurich, Switzerland	Up to 3 years in prison
Cairo, Egypt	Up to 3 years prison labor
Paris, France	Up to 2 years in prison and $33,000 fine
Seoul, South Korea	Up to 1 year in prison and/or a $8540 fine
Sydney, Australia	Up to 6 months in prison and/or a $5500 fine
Moscow, Russia	Up to 6 months in prison
Harare, Zimbabwe	Up to 6 months in prison and/or a $200 fine

Needless to say, in our country, an MLA is still an MLA even after killing a horse on duty publicly and is out on bail.

These are the same people whom we elected to serve and protect us from any calamity with the use of power. Clearly, the power has been misused and the behaviour was far worse than an animal. It is indeed a prejudice to call the accused an animal because animals don't even attack anyone unless provoked or if they are unsecured.

Shaktiman died while performing his duty diligently and remained dignified even in his life and during his last days. On one hand, we teach our kids the stories of Chetak, the brave horse of Maharana Pratap and on the other hand, we watch a brave horse being killed.

Strict punishment is all we need with stricter laws against people who assault animals.