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In reply to the discussion: Child mauled to death by African painted dogs at Pittsburgh Zoo Read more: http://www.post-gazette. [View all]magical thyme
(14,881 posts)The mother is at fault here. I don't often hold mothers at fault, but standing on a railing over a pit of wild animals is stupid. Standing a toddler on a railing set more than a few inches off the ground is really stupid, and standing them on a railing over a pit of wild animals is practically negligent homicide. Common sense tells you toddlers don't have great balance. That's why they're called toddlers.
The dogs weren't roaming around the zoo. They have a smaller enclosure within a larger enclosure. They dug under the fence of their smaller enclosure and were found within their larger enclosure in an area not accessible by the general public. They closed down the zoo for the day until they determined what had happened and rectified the situation.
The zoo had just been checked out and found to meet or exceed all requirements. It has never had a death in its many decades of operation.
2 sides of the viewing deck are already enclosed in glass. It seems likely that thanks to this woman's idiocy, the front will also be enclosed and everybody's view and ability to photograph will be permanently impaired. For the protection of the remaining African wild dogs from stupid people, that's probably a good thing.
In the meantime, some equally stupid parent will find some other way to cause their toddler's death because no matter how many protections and laws are put in place, you can't eradicate stupid or the consequences of stupid.