In disturbing news involving small creatures, a
seven-year-old boy from Australia
broke into a zoo and went on a killing rampage. He scaled the zoo’s fence at
around 8 in the morning, and spent the next half an hour smashing rocks on the
heads of reptiles and then tossing them, live, into the crocodile’s enclosure
(as shown in this photograph from a surveillance camera). The young boy then
climbed over an outer fence around the croc’s cage to survey the gory scene of
the 11-foot-long crocodile’s feast.
13 animals were killed in total, including a large turtle,
rare lizards, bearded dragons, and the zoo’s most beloved animal, a
20-year-old, meter-long goanna.
Since Australian law prevents children under 10 from being
charged with crimes, the boy faces no legal consequences—and it’s a good thing.
What he needs is serious help. Security videos showed that he was
“expressionless” throughout the killings. It is imperative that he receive
psychological treatment and that his family receive visits from social workers.
He may have a mental illness that requires medication, or he may be in a
difficult family situation. Whatever the reason for his destructive tendencies,
he must receive adequate care to prevent harming himself or others even further
when he’s older.
So I hope that the reaction of the zoo’s director, Rex
Neindorf, is not representative of how adults will treat the boy. According to
Neindorf, the boy “will just get worse and worse and worse, by the time he’s 10
he will be a hardened criminal.” If that’s the message this seven-year-old gets
from the all of the adults in his life, it may well become true.
Photo: Times Online
