"A 7-foot alligator captured off Tybee Island last week has been euthanized, according to a report.
The incident came days after an alligator snatched a toddler at a lagoon at the Walt Disney Resort in Orlando. The toddler’s body was found the next day." – AJC
"It's not clear what led to the attack.
FWC officials captured and euthanized the alligator Tuesday." – Orlando Sentinel
"Three of the gators, all 6 feet long or larger, were euthanized, The Valdosta Daily Times reported." – Times Free Press
All of my sympathy goes out to those that have lost loved ones to an alligator attack, or have had a loved one attacked by an alligator.
It's horrible.
But, in my opinion, these animals should not be punished.
Especially those animals that are just "spotted" in their natural habitat, and then taken out of it just to be euthanized.
This world was theirs first.
We are the guests.
In these places where see skyscrapers, there used to be just land, vast land that nature was allowed to exist on without the fear or worry about humans.
I think we take advantage of that.
We think that because we bigger, we are "smarter", we are more evolved, that we matter more. That our lives matter more.
(*NOTE: Not saying that that two year-old's life taken by the alligator in Orlando at the Disney resort was not a tragedy, it was.)
So, I'm asking for everyone to consider this, even when these creatures act out, why punish them? They are simply acting on their nature.
And why punish those that don't even act out, that are just simply existing, simply being themselves?
I believe in wildlife centers where wildlife can just simply exist without worrying that it's stepping on a human being's toes.
If your dog, if your cat, if your snake, if your bird… they all have feelings, what makes you think that other animals don't?
Horses?
Cows?
Chickens?
Alligators?
Sharks?
Just something to think about.