Tiger mauling brothers claim their civil rights were violated

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11/12/2008 Patricia "Hon of Hons" H. says:

OK, give me a freaking break. What a complete bunch of assmunches.

Two San Jose brothers who survived a Christmas Day tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo have filed a lawsuit against the city, zoo and others, claiming their civil rights were violated.
The lawsuit by Amritpal "Paul" Dhaliwal and Kulbir Dhaliwal also names Sam Singer, a well-known crisis management spokesman whose firm was retained by the zoo after the attack.

Singer has suggested the brothers might have done something to provoke the tiger, an accusation that the Dhaliwals' attorneys have denied. They accuse Singer of conducting a "smear campaign."

The lawsuit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, has been expected for months after City Attorney Dennis Herrera in May denied the brothers' claim for unspecified monetary damages.

Herrera's office, in denying the claim, said there is "no indication of liability on the part of the city and county" in the incident, and directed the brothers to file a claim with the San Francisco Zoological Society, the nonprofit that operates the zoo.

The lawsuit, which names the Zoological Society and the city, could shed light on exactly what happened Dec. 25, when a 243-pound Siberian tiger named Tatiana escaped her enclosure and mauled three young men from San Jose, killing one.

The brothers contend that they suffered serious injuries and emotional harm during the attack. The tiger killed 19-year-old Paul Dhaliwal's close friend Carlos Sousa Jr., 17, before police shot and killed the animal.

Sousa's family is also expected to sue the city and zoo.

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11/12/2008 ethan "tastes stupid" l. says:
hahaha! bietches...
11/12/2008 patrick d. says:
That tiger was a F-ing fascist! It makes me want to start fires and overturn tiger lairs. F the tigers! F the tigers!
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11/12/2008 Darin "bring the rain" E. says:
I bet Tatiana voted for Obama. Stupid Libtard tiger.
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11/12/2008 James M. says:
Liability will only attach if the tiger was working within the scope of her employment at the time.
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11/12/2008 X "Myque" Z. says:
I'd like to violate their civil rights with a red hot poker.

And by civil rights, I mean sphincter.
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11/12/2008 J. Ass. M "Looks don't deceive what your eyes perceive™" B. says:
hahahahahahah
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11/12/2008 Brandon "Support Your Local Businesses" M. says:
Poor tigers.
11/12/2008

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11/12/2008 Don "Unstable Ptenophytium" B. says:
I can totally see it. My wife's cat violates my civil rights all the time. Little bastard.
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11/12/2008 Dennis O. says:
i heard one of them got caught stealing in Target.
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11/12/2008 M'ia "|-_-| Yes, I love Natto" K. says:
Those 9 words made me chuckle. HARD. i don't even need to read the rest.

and, what Tori said.
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11/12/2008 Patricia "Hon of Hons" H. says:
Yeah, he's currently in jail for stealing video games. Again, complete assmunch.
11/12/2008 Jeff S. says:
How much will the City pay them to make this go away? I'm guessing 6 figures. We'll probably never know.
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11/12/2008 Cornelius S. says:
We should seriously bring back the pillory and put those guys in it:
http://en.wikipedia.or...
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11/12/2008 joe "I don't need a funny nickname" y. says:
"F" these guys!!

They are why they were mauled and their friend is dead...
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11/12/2008 Anna "you remind me of my gucci shoes" S. says:
ok, yeah, the kids were idiot potheads, but they still didn't deserve to be mauled and killed. There is no proof that they reached into the enclosure or that they taunted the cat. And yes, the city and zoo definitely are liable, they were inspected and told that the retaining wall was too low, they did nothing. Not to mention that they completely fucked up when the kid was attacked, and denied the fact that the animal was loose. the third person may have been able to be saved, but they botched the isolating of the cat, and providing life-saving help to the guy who died.

Patricia, where were civil rights supposedly violated? I didn't see that anywhere in your post.
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11/12/2008 joe "I don't need a funny nickname" y. says:
They were taunting the cat.
They threw cans at it.
I'm sorry to have little feelings for them, but they created this situation.
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11/12/2008 Genevieve M. says:
You know what? They fucking deserved it. They were taunting that tiger, and I feel more sorry for the tiger than for them.

I hope they don't win a cent from the city.
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11/12/2008 joe "I don't need a funny nickname" y. says:
Glad to see ppl are thinking like I do!!...
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11/12/2008 Mark a p. says:
i met the dad of the one that got killed this summer at one of the dive bars i hit on Saturday
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11/12/2008 Ruby "T.L.'s Finest" D. says:
*disgusted*
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11/12/2008 Anna "you remind me of my gucci shoes" S. says:
Tori "Don't breed or buy while other dogs die" K. says:

The little f***ers used slingshots to taunt her, and a bloody shoe was found in the Tatianna's grotto.

Someone must have camera footage.
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If the shoe was bloody, they must have thrown it at her after she attacked. Shit, if my friend was being eaten by a carnivorous cat, I might throw a shoe too. As far as I have read, there is no evidence at all that they taunted her. There was no slingshot found. The person who claimed they had a slingshot was "an unnamed source" of the NY Post. The NY Post is a ridiculous tabloid, I would take anything they said with a strong dose of salt. The police said there was no slingshot.
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11/12/2008 Mark "don't Cry for me Arrrrr-gentina" A. says:
I think the tiger's civil rights were violated.
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11/12/2008 Mark "I' don't pay you to sit around" L. says:
Oh, boo hoo hoo.
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11/12/2008 Terry T. says:
Those 2 douchebags never cease to amaze me.
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11/12/2008 wendella a. says:
Tell it to the rhino.
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11/12/2008 Amy "Let's Go Giants baseball...I don't do football" R. says:
Urgh. For a second I hoped this was an old thread that got bumped. Why are these assholes still clogging up our justice system. My tax dollars are being violated.
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11/12/2008 Jehoshaphat "I'm done making Yelp rich with my dynamic writing" X. says:
Tori is a genius. What she said.
11/12/2008 GOOD BYE. I LOVE YOU ALL. X. says:
what a crock of shit. anyway to get some money......................fil l in the blanks. that's why they purposely got mauled. the plan went south obviously.
11/12/2008 Ralph C. says:
were they trying to marry each other
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11/13/2008 tera "sp" m. says:
that tiger could have had twofer...i would much rather be able to see the tiger Tatiana in cage alive than have to pay tax dollars to put these 2 where they belong.
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11/13/2008 Gil "whoo hoo" S. says:
They have every reason to sue. They were injured because the zoo was fucked up, irresponsible, and dishonest. And instead of fessing up the zoo lied about what happened in an effort to discredit the kids. The boys aren't exactly sterling examples of citizenship, but that doesn't get the city or the zoo off the hook. They're the ones with the zoo pen that can't hold in a tiger, who hire a PR hack to lie and cover up what happened instead of dealing with their mistake.

It's a shame that the zoo's smear tactics apparently worked. As citizens we have some control over our own institutions - this happened on our watch. We don't have control over what poorly brought up teenagers will do at a zoo - the zoo has been a magnet for bad behavior for decades. Fortunately, the jerks who ran the place are out on our ass and we can get about to either making it a respectable institution or using the real estate for something more productive.
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11/13/2008 Gil "whoo hoo" S. says:
And yes, the slingshot thing was a lie spread by the zoo to try to smear the victims - it never happened.
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11/13/2008 Eric "Evol" V. says:
They might have a case if they were white tigers.
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11/13/2008 J "overgrown with summer foliage" A. says:
My civil rights have been violated for having to hear them whine.
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11/13/2008 J "overgrown with summer foliage" A. says:
Can I sue?
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11/13/2008 Fräulein "Don't make me hand you your ass..." J. says:
I have no sympathy for those assclown punks. They deserve what they got.

That being said, that tiger should have NEVER been able to get out of its enclosure. To that end - I only feel that way because I feel nothing but sympathy for the distressed, confused, terrified animal that died in a hail of multiple gunshot wounds for merely being 'itself' - all because a group of pathetic excuses of "animal experts" failed to build a safe structure while forcing it to live in captivity for our personal entertainment.

God forbid a tiger dare act like *gasp* an effing tiger.
11/13/2008 Bud e. says:
As always my sympathy to the family and friends who suffered the human loss. With that said, this whole thing reeks of injustice. These kids have proven themselves to be dumbasses. A beautiful animal was put down (KILLED) because of their behavior. They deserve nothing and even if 12 stupid people decide they were somehow violated, I hope they only award $1 to be split amongst themselves and their attorneys.
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11/13/2008 Brandon "Support Your Local Businesses" M. says:
Poor tigers :(
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11/13/2008 Abby S. says:
6 minutes ago Bud "Appreciates diversity. Celebrates unity." E. says:

As always my sympathy to the family and friends who suffered the human loss. With that said, this whole thing reeks of injustice. These kids have proven themselves to be dumbasses. A beautiful animal was put down (KILLED) because of their behavior. They deserve nothing and even if 12 stupid people decide they were somehow violated, I hope they only award $1 to be split amongst themselves and their attorneys.
***********
Nicely said +100
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11/13/2008 Fräulein "Don't make me hand you your ass..." J. says:
7 minutes ago Frank "The Time Travelling Rabbit" z. says:

That being said, that tiger should have NEVER been able to get out of its enclosure.
============================== ============================== =====

Should the zoo have placed the tiger in a jar with air holes punched in the lid?

A zoo and the animals confined within that zoo are not present for the public's entertainment. They are there for educational purposes. Most people will never see these animals in the wild. Some of these animals are dying off and it is the zoo which assists in reviving the species so it doesn't become extinct. Yes, it is supposed to be a safe place where peope may view and learn about these animals, however, Tatiana would likely never have had attempted escape had those two retreads not provoked her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~

I don't think the only alternative for an obvious inadequate holding structure would be to put the tiger in a sealed jar with holes. Thats ridiculous.

But yes, I ABSOLUTELY believe that for the tigers own safety and well-being, the zoo should have provided a living space that the animal could not escape from BY ANY MEANS - even if 2 drunk teenagers were taunting it. What if it were a 6 year old throwing things at it or standing on the gate with noisemaker?

Bottom line, a number of things could have pulled a reaction out of wild animal, therefore, the zoo must provide for a safe enviornment - for the public, and for the animals. The zoo was warned in the past the structure could possibly be breached and they chose not to retrograde even then. Do I give a rats ass about these punks? Circumstantially - absolutely not. Had it been the 6 year old, of course.

If you are going to keep these potentially dangerous, unpredictable animals in captivity - whether one belives its for entertainment or education, then you have to make sure they can't get out. Not sure why thats a difficult concept to agree with.
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11/13/2008 Senor "it bends to the left" M. says:
After they lose, let's throw them back in the cage. Please God, let me serve on that jury?
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11/13/2008 Bud e. says:
Sean, plus one.

The tiger shouldn't have been able to get out of the cage? Of course not, but life isn't foolproof. Look around, there's proof of that everywhere! We give too much blind responsibility to others and assume our world is devoid of any risk at all times. Shit happens and sometimes we step in it. This pathetic blame-driven society we've become is a social atrocity. If you fall down, get up. If you "throw rocks" at tigers, you effing better be able to outrun your friends. These judges and juries involved better make the right statement with their decisions on the start to finish of this whole matter.
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11/13/2008 Jack H. says:
The punks can knock themselves out suing Tatianna the Tiger.

Thought she was a bitch at the zoo? Wait til you see her in court.
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11/13/2008 Jack H. says:
Tatianna said screw the lawyers, let's settle this between ourselves, here & now. respec
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11/13/2008 Fräulein "Don't make me hand you your ass..." J. says:
Like it or not - they will win this civil case. Hopefully their settlement will be reduced due to circumstances surrounding the case.

Provocation or not, the tiger shouldnt have been able to get out. A civil court judge will have little choice but to agree that the responsibility to keep the animals from separated from the public, will be that of the Zoo's. Can you argue that the tiger was provoked? Yes, and that may help determine the size of the settlement - but no more.
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11/13/2008 Anna "you remind me of my gucci shoes" S. says:
Frank "The Time Travelling Rabbit" z. says

They got what they deserved and she was, unfortunately, punished for their foolishness.
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Do you guys think that the 17 year old who died got what he deserved? Do you think his family has the right to sue?

I'm not excusing what the guys did, but there are a lot of dumb people here in our country. While I find them horribly obnoxious to be around, I don't think they deserve to be murdered. The zoo had a reasonable responsibility to protect all zoo-goers from attack by the animals, they did not fulfill this basic duty, they are absolutely liable. they are incredibly lucky that some innocent child was not murdered as well.
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11/13/2008 Henry "Ting's Fat Friend" S. says:
They're just trying to get paid....
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11/13/2008 Anna "you remind me of my gucci shoes" S. says:
When I used to be a summer camp counselor, I took the kids to a zoo once. One of my smart-ass 7 year olds hella made fun of a gorilla. This ape was seriously used to being harassed. The gorilla leaned over, took a big sip of water, grabbed his rope, swung across his cage, slamming his body into the front bars. Upon hitting the bars, he hawked a huge loogie of spit as hard as he could at the kid, spraying him in the face. Everyone busted up laughing, except the wet kid. That kid got what he deserved. Carlos Sousa did not get what he deserved.
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11/13/2008 Anna "you remind me of my gucci shoes" S. says:
Frank "The Time Travelling Rabbit" z. says:

"...It was recommended that a tiger moat should be a minimum of 7 meters (almost 23 feet) wide at the top and a minimum of 5 meters high (16.4 feet) on the visitors' side, with a fence at least 5 meters high.
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Was it also recommended that the moat have actual water in it? if it had, the tiger would not have been able to leap out.
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11/13/2008 Jack H. says:
Dudes in their late teens/early 20's tease an animal that they know has the power to kill them without even working up a sweat. They go ahead and do it anyway.

Nature & Darwin do their magic. Did they "get what they deserve"? Human moralists may not think so, but nature and Darwin simply scored a point. You play with fire, sometimes you get burned. Real bad.
11/13/2008 W O. says:
Sure, they can get paid. Plenty of stupid people win lawsuits all the time. I don't have an issue with that if the judge is equally stupid as to rule their claims are justifiable.

However, their money should be earned by dangling it over the NEW tiger area, and they will need to wear an alcohol-soaked deer costume in addition to several lead weights on their bozacks.
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11/13/2008 Jack H. says:
heh, what Frank said. Burned, indeed.

The first mistake was having a freaking zoo in the first place. It's a prison for animals. The animals have done nothing wrong, but humans go to their home, trap them, cage them, and put them in these stinking prisons for human monkey/idiots to gawk at and tease, for life. After that, imo, all bets are off. You take a tiger out of the jungle and then get all upset when it omg kills people. The zoo model = Fucking backwards human idiocy.
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11/13/2008 Fräulein "Don't make me hand you your ass..." J. says:
(from the SF Chronicle)

"But escaping from an enclosure at the zoo is not beyond the ability of a Siberian tiger, according to a retired longtime keeper and other zoo veterans interviewed by The Chronicle.

And many people who worked at the zoo knew it, the keeper said.

The keeper, who spent decades at the zoo and asked not to be publicly identified, said he got the word about Siberian tigers - and the apparently inadequate 12 1/2-foot-high moat wall that protects the public from them - in a most dramatic fashion, not long after he began working at the zoo.

"I was putting a sign up in front of the tiger exhibit, with my butt hanging over the edge," said the former keeper. "The cat was pacing back and forth at the bottom of the grotto."

The keeper said one of his more seasoned colleagues happened by, grabbed him by the belt loop and jerked him back, away from the edge.

"He shared the secret that people knew - the cat could jump up and take me down," the keeper said."

http://www.sfgate.com/...
11/13/2008 W O. says:
Not all zoos are that dumb & desheveled, by the way. Oakland's is ten times better. 10 times better than crap isn't that great, but one would think SF's version would have been better or more thought-out.
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11/13/2008 Fräulein "Don't make me hand you your ass..." J. says:
And another cite...

http://video.msn.com/?...

"The wall that protects visitors from the tigers is 12 1/2 feet high - - 4 feet lower than the recommended height by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums - however the AZA has no enforcement power."
11/13/2008 W O. says:
Exactly. Who ever got mauled and then sued after plummeting to their untimely death? No one. That's who.
11/13/2008 pablo H. says:
I don't care if they were shooting heroin, dancing nude, hooting and hollering, taunting, dangling rare meat in front of the tigers, or acting like the biggest assholes in the known universe, the fact is the tigers escaped from their invironment and it could've been anyone that got killed. Hell, when I was a kid, I used to always taunt the animals in the zoo. You know, yell at the monkeys, make faces at the elephants, etc. I hope they get everything they can from that incompetent zoo, then they will be forced to make adjustments to make sure everyone who visits is safe.
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11/13/2008 Jack H. says:
i'm just sayin we should live the animals in their own invironment as much as pissible
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11/13/2008 W O. says:
Jack is invironmentally conscienced.

I think people who *don't* taunt are just as safe as they've always been. Same goes for taunters. Snot-nosed little shits are why zoos suck for everyone else. Animals get all pissed off when they should be appreciated for their natural beauty.
11/13/2008 W O. says:
Frank "The Time Travelling Rabbit" z. says:

Hey, when you step outside to create a bogus profile, you may want to carefully review your spelling mistakes - kinda gives you away.
==================
Check your instruments. Your snark-adar is out of whack.
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11/13/2008 Jack H. says:
Yet again, Shannon is the only one who understands me. sniff. S, lets go grab some umbrella drinks
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11/13/2008 AJ S. says:
These guys are criminals. The tiger was doing us a service getting these hoodlums off the street.

Sorry, their friend was mauled, but that is what happens when you TAUNT a TIGER - the tiger was not made of plush & it reacted like any wild animal would.
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11/13/2008 Fräulein "Don't make me hand you your ass..." J. says:
11 minutes ago Frank "The Time Travelling Rabbit" z. says:

Sooo...

...anyone wanna head to the zoo this weekend??

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Funny thing is, I WAS going to take my 3 year old nephew to the zoo!
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11/13/2008 Anna "you remind me of my gucci shoes" S. says:
Frank "The Time Travelling Rabbit" z. says:

Anna "sublety is not my middle name" S. says:

Was it also recommended that the moat have actual water in it? if it had, the tiger would not have been able to leap out.
============================== ======

Cite your source that there existed no water. Cite your source which states how deep the moat was dug, because even if it had water and wasn't very deep, the animal still has the means to traverse it.
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Dude, frank, calm down. First of all, I never said anything about the depth of the moat, but logic shows that leaping out of water, you will not be able to jump as high. Also, why are you freaking out about sources? I didn't see you cite anything. It's common knowledge that the moat was empty.

People love to cite rumor as fact. In fact, there was never a shoe or a slingshot found inside the enclosure, as Tori claims.

from the USA today:

"On Thursday, Fong (the police spokesman)denied earlier reports that police were looking into the possibility that the victims had dangled a leg or other body part over the edge of the moat, after a shoe and blood was found inside the enclosure. No shoe was found inside

Zoo officials said a "moat" separating the habitat from the public viewing area that measured 33 feet across contained no water, and has never had any."

http://www.usatoday.co...
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11/13/2008 Jennifer P. says:
OK, what. Those idiots went to the zoo on Christmas to stir up some shit; they didn't go there to get an educational experience.

Everything about their record screams MISCREANTS.

So now these idiots are trying to get money out of this. What does that say about them?
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11/14/2008 Miss "you call him docta jones" T. says:
"SMEAR CAMPAIGN"

OKAY people tell me what you think about this... if the tiger's enclosure was always too low, but the tiger hadn't been escaping on a regular when delicious little babies were near by... howcome it decided this was the time to escape? Because, the tiger was determined to get those kids... because as any critical thinker can see, they taunted the tiger. That's pretty obvious to anyone at this point. And now they want money? They already shot the tiger. Drew negative attention to the SF Zoo. And now their "civil rights have been violated" and theyre suing? I can't believe the world I live in where wew can allow people to do something like this, and when someone brings up a good topic all we yelpers do is argue with eachother about who has better grammar.

Jack H. : I totally agree with what you said about zoos, but theyre also a sanctuary for orphaned and otherwise abandoned wildlife. They also provide such a rare educational experience for kids. Although I think this is a problem we caused, shouldnt we be more upset at the source? The poachers that kill mothers and sell babies? Breeders? Etc?