Chinese zookeeper launches violent attack on red-crowned crane after it pecks at him
Employee suspended for three months after pummelling state-protected bird with a stick, breaking its wing
A zookeeper in northern China who launched a violent attack on a red-crowned crane, breaking its wing, said he was acting in self-defence, according to a state media report.
The incident, which was witnessed by several members of the public, happened on Friday morning at Shijiazhuang Zoo in Hebei province, China Central Television reported on Saturday.
According to a statement issued by the zoo, soon after the keeper entered the bird’s enclosure it began pecking at him.
Rather than take evasive action, however, the man decided to launch a counter attack and began striking the animal with a stick, according to a social media post by a witness to the event.
“The crane shrieked each time the stick landed,” the person wrote on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like service. “It kept trying to get back on its feet but its efforts ended in vain.”