7 year old breaks into zoo and feeds animals to a crocodile and kills large lizards with a rock.

The Associated Press

SYDNEY, Australia – A 7-year-old boy broke into a popular Outback zoo, fed a string of animals to the resident crocodile and bashed several lizards to death with a rock, the zoo's director said Friday.

RAMPAGE

The 30-minute rampage, caught on the zoo's security camera, happened early Wednesday at the Alice Springs Reptile Centre in central Australia.

KILLING SPREE

Three lizards were bashed to death with a rock, including the zoo's beloved, 20-year-old goanna, which was fed, along with several other live animals, to "Terry," an 11-foot, 440-pound saltwater crocodile.

EMOTIONLESS

In the footage, the boy's face remains largely blank, zoo director Rex Neindorf said: "It was like he was playing a game."

NO CHARGES

Police say they can't charge the boy because he's under 10, but Mr. Neindorf said he plans to sue the boy's parents for the $5,500 value of the animals killed.

I cannot believe the police say they cannot charge him. What if he killed a person? Could they not charge him then? I think this sounds like a cop-out, pardon the pun. This is a seven year old boy, who broke into a zoo and not only killed animals, but did it in a very disturbing way.

Who else thinks this is something that is so serious that they must charge this boy? He needs psychological help.

Why blame chained dog for humans' many errors?

Sadly, another parent has allowed a child to be bitten by a dog ("Dog mauls girl", Leader-Post, Jan. 21).



Could someone not stomach the fact that Lassie, the smart and gentle animal who saved little Timmy from harm every week on TV, could hurt a child? I have been teaching dog obedience and socialization for many years. I have taught dozens of breeds and thousands of dogs. I have been bitten and/or threatened by border collies, Chihuahuas, shih tzus, Labradors, schipperkes, golden retrievers, Australian shepherds, cocker spaniels, springer spaniels, poodles, terriers and Pomeranians. These are not breeds we think of as dangerous.

I have had one problem with a "dangerous" breed: A cross breed that had suffered a lifetime of abuse and neglect. Small dog bites are unlikely to require medical treatment, go unreported, and skew statistics.

While researching this letter, I came across a citation for an incident in which a Pomeranian, a two-kilogram dog, had killed a baby.

I recently saw a golden retriever/poodle cross that was, by anyone's definition, dangerous.

Golden retrievers? Dangerous?

Dangerous dogs exist, but dangerous breeds exist only in the imaginations of people looking for scapegoats.

Breed bans exist so that politicians can look like they are doing something while doing nothing useful.

News stories that alter the description of a dog from one breed to another only add to the hysteria and make it harder for responsible pet owners.

Any dog will bite if it feels threatened and can't escape. "Fight or flight" are its only safety valves. A dog that is chained cannot escape a perceived threat and is more likely to bite, no matter what breed it is, and no matter whether the threat comes from a child, an adult, or another dog.

Even "Lassie" will bite in that situation -- as the people in Delisle have discovered.