3 shot dead, 4 still at large
Three chimpanzees were shot and killed and four others are still at large after escaping from their enclosure at a Swedish zoo.
The incident occurred late on Wednesday at Furuvik Zoo, near Galve, about 100 kilometers north of Stockholm. The animals were loose inside a building at the zoo, which is located inside the amusement park AB Furuviksparken. Three were shot soon after and one of the remaining four was injured.
The zoo said it was unknown how the chimps escaped. The three animals were shot because there was not enough sedative for all the chimpanzees.
The situation is “extremely serious and tragic, both for our animals and our employees,” the zoo said.
Officials said the injured animal has not received veterinary care because no one has been able to enter the building safely.
The zoo, which has been closed to the public for the season, added in an update that staff remain on high alert.
– Our focus right now is to get an overview of where the four are now so that we can start working on getting them back to their enclosures safely, says Annika Troselius, spokeswoman for the zoo, to SVT.
“We have to think about people’s lives and safety in the first place. No employees are allowed to work in close contact with animals like this.”
“A chimpanzee is considered a high-risk animal. If this type of animal gets out into the zoo, it can pose a threat to human life,” she says. AFP.
The zoo claims to be the only primate research facility in Scandinavia.
With News Wire Services