'Harassed' cockerel dies at Tropical Wings Zoo in Essex
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-34003910 Version 0 of 1. A cockerel crashed in to a tree and died as it tried to escape a group of children chasing and harassing it, a zoo has said. Jay Wood, manager at Tropical Wings Zoo in Essex, said the children were shouting and chasing chickens on Wednesday afternoon. He said adults were seen laughing when the cockerel, named Jack, hit the tree. "I'm very, very saddened by the fact anybody thinks its OK to come into our zoo and behave that way," he said. A photograph of the group was given to staff at the zoo and will be distributed to other attractions in the area, Mr Wood said. He added: "In the farmyard we have three roaming Orpington chickens and on this occasion, and the only occasion we've ever experienced, some kids were behaving incredibly badly and harassed the cockerel so much that he ran into hiding, but while doing that he ran into a tree and passed away. "It's very upsetting to see or hear about such behaviour in our zoo. We don't tolerate that behaviour to our animals." Mr Wood said eyewitnesses told him that the group knew the cockerel had died and some adults were seen laughing afterwards. He said the zoo would have "discussions in-house about further action we'll be taking", including possibly going to the police. "We love what we do here, we're very saddened by the whole event because we work towards a clear mission to provide the best possible welfare for all the animals in our care," said Mr Wood. |