Sunday, October 5, 2008

Boy, 7, Feeds Zoo Animals To Croc

By Sky News SkyNews - Friday, October 3 11:05 am

A boy of seven has broken into a zoo in the Australian Outback, fed a string of animals to the resident crocodile and bashed several lizards to death with a rock.

The boy scaled a security fence and went on a 30-minute spree, even killing the zoo's beloved, 20-year-old goanna lizard , which he then fed to "Terry," an 11-foot saltwater crocodile.

Rex Neindorf, director of the Alice Springs Reptile Centre in central Australia, said the boy also threw several live animals to Terry over the two fences surrounding the crocodile's enclosure.
At one point he climbed over the outer fence to get closer to the giant reptile.
In CCTV pictures, the boy's face remains largely blank, Mr Neindorf said. "It was like he was playing a game."

He killed 13 animals worth more than £3,000, including a turtle, bearded dragons and thorny devil lizards. Although none were rare, some would be difficult to replace.
"We're horrified that anyone can do this, and saddened by the age of the child," said Mr Neindorf.

Police said they had identified the boy, who lives locally, but were unable to press charges because of his age. Children under 10 are not criminally liable under the law in the Northern Territory.

"By all accounts, he's quite a nasty seven-year-old," said Mr Neindorf, who plans to sue the boy's parents. "If we can't put the blame onto the child, then someone has to accept the responsibility."

The zoo's security system, which relies on sensors, probably did not detect the boy because he is so small, he added

Taken from Yahoo! News.

No comments: