Times are tough, and people may do the unexpected just to survive. A Japanese zookeeper has been accused of stealing food from the animals under his care.
According to the South China Morning Post, the Tennoji Zoo in western Japan’s Osaka prefecture reported a series of thefts to the police after discovering unusual fruit and vegetable losses from their animal food bank.
It was reported that police investigators eventually narrowed their search for a culprit to a 47-year-old zookeeper who worked at the facility’s Animal Care and Breeding Showcase department.
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According to them, the unidentified man was caught sneaking food out of monkeys and chimpanzees. However, the police said they were still investigating the man’s motive.
The zoo’s vice director, Kiyoshi Yasufuku, expressed his regret for the zookeeper’s behaviour. The zoo also apologised for “hurting people’s trust” and vowed to strictly deal with the case and prevent it from happening again.
It is still unclear what he was doing with the food.
Meanwhile, the incident has garnered plenty of attention on social media. Most netizens slammed the zookeeper for abusing his authority, but some sympathised with him and said that the zookeeper must’ve only resorted to such acts out of desperation.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments.
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