Outrage as visitors scratch names into rhino’s back at French zoo
- Photos of 35-year-old animal with words ‘Camille’ and ‘Julien’ written on it spark outcry on social media
- La Palmyre zoo ‘outraged by the stupidity and disrespect’ of culprits
Staff at a French zoo condemned on Wednesday the “stupidity” of visitors who scratched their names into the back of a rhino.
A photograph of the 35-year-old female rhinoceros with the words “Camille” and “Julien” on its back has been widely shared on social media, triggering an outcry.
La Palmyre zoo in Royan in southwestern France said in a statement it was “outraged by the stupidity and disrespect” of the visitors but would not be taking legal action.
Animal lovers can touch the creatures when they approach the fence of their enclosure, it said, a “moving” experience that allows visitors to appreciate “the diversity and beauty of nature”.
Three of the five species of rhino are critically endangered, largely due to the lucrative poaching trade.