7yr old boy in zoo havoc - quite worrying...

[daizydoo]

zoo havoc

It's quite scary how blood thirsty a 7yr old boy can be, just glad he didn't get hurt though...

lol at "3m, 200kg Crocodile called Terry"

In my day he'd get a big boot up the arse," centre director Rex Neindorf told Reuters by phone.

My sentiments exactly!

And WTF was he doing in there unsupervised?

Blimey - bit of a step up from pulling legs off a daddy-long-legs.

LOL at "Terry"
Like the infamous Australian croc who ate a British pensioner, known to the locals as "Charlie"!

WHat a horrible boy.

Would have been just desserts, in a cautionary tale kind of way, if he had been nipped.

Or eaten.

He sounds like a seriously disturbed child to me.

I agree that he sounds disturbed. I've also requested that my last post be deleted.

Um, LilRedWG, I was about to post the same thing you did - there is a very strong association between this sort of behaviour now, and him doing the same thing to people later. (Presumably with some treatment he might be fine?)

LWG, there's a growing body of evidence that shows a link between animal abuse and abuse of other humans - one of the reasons vets are being encouraged to maintain strong links with social services and police is to spot the early warning signs of child or domestic abuse.

I'm astounded that a zoo is so insecure that a 7 year old could gain entry to the grounds and to the enclosures. Plenty times you can see kids running round zoos unsupervised, this kid could have got in with the croc during public opening if he'd wanted to, by the sounds of things!

He definitely sounds like he has problems of some sort - I do hope this is dealt with more thoroughly than by simply suing the parents.

I've just read another account of the story and "by all accounts he's quite a nasty 7yr old". How does a 7yr old scale a security fence? Or is this something I am going to have to watch out with ds (climbing not killing )

Lilredwig I totally agree, little shit shouldv'e jumped in himself That was a joke BTW.

Poor animals I hate bastards people like that. Kid or not a 7YO should know better although on the other hand what has gone oon his life to make him like that?

Wow - I've not been leapt on for labelling the poor boy. I'll still let them delete it as I have no energy for defending my comments this morning and MN has been a scary place of late.

I was also thinking the same thing.

First thing I thought of too tbh.

It sounds awful, but I'm not entirely sure he's a sociopath. Haven't small boys tortured animals since the beginning of time? (Usually in groups admittedly, and not every boy, but...) I think there is a testosterone/hunting stage in boys where battling it out with animals is kind of a natural thing. Not that it should be allowed - as a civilised society we stop it - but I don't think the fact that he did this signals something terrible. He was after all only helping the croc to do what it does naturally. At some zoos you can see pythons etc being fed things like baby mice, and I've seen small boys absolutely enthralled by that.

I have to admit with shame that I pulled legs off daddy long legs at that age, I was a tomboy and played with boys who did it. I still feel bad about it but at the time I was just fascinated and had very little empathy.

The problem here is the parents who weren't controlling him.

Sorry but this has put me in mind of the monologue The Lion and Albert that my Dad used to get up and recite at any given opportunity when I was a child!

Those parents and the Zoo itself need to be taken to task for allowing a child the opportunity to do this - it is too extreme to label the boy a sociopath.

what a horrible child

It's the bludgeoning to death of three animals that made me shudder. It's not the same as picking the legs off a daddy long legs or frying a caterpillar.

Well, hopefully there'll be some investigation and the kid will be looked after if he needs some help.

And the zoo will keep better security for its animals.

Nasty little story.

Frying a caterpillar? (envisages horrific scenes from winky's childhood)

Of course it's not the same, it's far far worse but I think it may be what some normal 7yo boys may do if unchecked and not brought up with enough boundaries, iyswim.

I am sure I read something from ages and ages ago - victorian book I think - which described a gang of bad boys setting fire to a cat. Awful, horrible but possibly natural. I am not saying natural is always OK, we need to teach children not to hurt animals, of course. But, underneath that, we are animals and hunters. Basically, we use and kill animals, most of us - and they suffer. It's just that for most of us, we don't have to think about it.

Yet sometimes even for fun, adults regarded as non-psychopathic and normal go out hunting, torturing and killing animals for fun, because they have a drive to do it. This boy may not have been reined in enough, but this behaviour in itself shouldn't lead us to jump to a label I think.

I am not a huntin shootin fishin type at all btw! - not defending it. But I do think it's maybe slightly hypocritical to throw our hands up in horror that a boy, obviously not properly guided by his parents, not yet in command of his urges and not yet possessing a full sense of empathy, goes and attacks animals for fun - when rational, sane adults do this every day.

Awful. And actually I agree about this sort of behaviour being a warning sign. He was on his own, so not a gang mentality thing.

Anyone remember this from a few years back?

OMG - I would be horrified, actually make that repulsed, if that was my ds.
What a sick adn twisted boy. I hope he gets treated/dealt with so he does not grow up a psychopath.
He is obviously already missing the empathy gene