On the 14th, there is a public opinion of sympathy online for the fact that a female lion who was raised in a farm in Goryeong-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do was shot to death in 1 hour and 10 minutes after escaping. Relevant authorities are in the position that it was inevitable to prevent human casualties, but there are also criticisms about whether it was appropriate to kill the lioness rather than capture it alive. In 2018, the case of ‘Porongi’, a puma who escaped from Daejeon O-World Zoo and was killed, was also re-examined.
According to Goryeong-gun and the Gyeongbuk Fire Headquarters, the police received a report that a lioness who was raised at a tourist farm in Okgye-ri, Deokgok-myeon, Goryeong-gun escaped at around 7:24 am. The reporter said, “A lioness about 20 years old escaped from the cage and ran into the mountains.” Goryeong-gun sent disaster safety text messages to메이저놀이터 residents. Residents of nearby Seongju County also received the same message.
The police requested a joint response from the fire department and the military. 159 people were put into the scene to catch the escaped lioness. The lioness was found in the woods at 4 to 5 meters from the ranch around 8:12 am. Two shotgunners who were involved in the search fired two shotguns each from a distance of 20m, and the lioness was killed around 8:34 am. The body was handed over to the Goryunggun.
An official from the Goryeong Police Station said, “The heads of the Goryeong County, the Goryeong Police Station, and the Goryeong Fire Station consulted and decided to kill him.” It is said that the escaped lioness was nestled behind a tree, so it was said that it was judged that there was a possibility of an accidental shot if a tranquilizer gun was fired.
Among netizens, there were many reactions that felt sorry for the death of the lioness. Comments such as “Only innocent lions were killed because of humans” “Why did you leave the anesthetic gun behind” “I was locked up for the rest of my life and ended up getting shot” ran in a row
In September 2018, there is also a reaction that reminds me of the case of escaping and killing a puma at the zoo’O World’ in Jung-gu, Daejeon. It is an incident in which ‘Porongi’, who escaped because the zoo keeper did not properly lock the door after cleaning the kennel, was shot and killed five hours after escaping. It was an 8-year-old female cougar weighing 60 kg.
Although the cougar was killed without any injuries, public opinion on the Internet did not praise the government’s quick response. Rather, the theory of sympathy was overwhelming: ‘Why did you kill an innocent cougar? Even Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon at the time posted on Facebook, “I wanted to be captured alive, but it seems that the judgment on the spot was different. It’s a pity and I’m sorry.” On the bulletin board of the Blue House National Petition, petitions such as ‘closure of the zoo’ and ‘punishment of the hostess’ were posted.