Protecting People from Idiots

Did you read about the Belgian woman who was killed earlier this week by a cheetah in the zoo? Here’s a quick rundown…37 year old zoogoer(is that a word?) who helped “sponsor” the cheetah’s care by donating money. After the zoo closed, she hid out in a restricted area, stole the keys to the cheetah’s cage and paid the cheetah a little visit. The cheetah then attacked her. Shocking. I don’t mean to make light of a human tragedy, but the story DOES get a lot more weird.
After this occurred, an animal rights organization called GAIA demanded the zoo be shut down because it’s unsafe for visitors. Beg pardon? If GAIA wants to make a statement that the idea of wild animals being captured and caged is wrong, fine. They may have a point.
What is NOT a point is that the zoo isn’t safe. Seriously, they really think the zoo isn’t safe because a woman disobeyed the zoo hours, hid in a restricted area, stole a keeper’s keys and ended up being tragically mauled? “Tragically mauled” is the sad part, but the other stuff was all her fault!
I really, really hate it when orgs of any kind take their mission statement and try to make it fit a completely different situation. Do what you say, say what you do, but don’t make claims that don’t fit into any rational situation.