London Zoo ‘Helps’ Animals by Letting Drunk People Abuse Them

The London Zoo has been hosting late-night parties for several years to attract a younger age group, generating £800,000 ($1.3 million) a year. But along with the good times and cash flow comes some pretty horrific stories.

Ironically, the funds from these parties, which are called “Zoo Lates,” are supposed to go toward the London Zoo’s Conservation efforts, but these parties are causing harm and distress for the animals. This is awful — reports have surfaced of a woman punching a bird, a man stripping off his clothes and trying to enter the penguin enclosure, a man pouring beer on a tiger, a man rubbing himself on the glass in the snake enclosure, and several people stomping on butterflies amidst the alcohol-induced frenzy. A reporter from The Guardian allegedly saw an attendee approach a zookeeper to ask “which penguin can I fight?” while another zookeeper told a colleague some people were getting “a bit touchy feely” with the baby penguins.

“During the day, welfare and Conservation is of the utmost priority,” said a source at the zoo to the Daily Mail. “In the evening, that seems to go out of the window, and the animals become a commodity. That’s not what zoos are about, but there’s a lot of money in it.”

Image source: Andy Hall/ The Guardian

Are you as disturbed by this news as we are, especially considering the zoochosis that happens to animals in zoos already? Prepare to be even more livid — a spokesman actually said the zoo believed the events were safe. “We would ban alcohol if we thought it was necessary, but at the moment we see no need to do so,’ she said to the Daily Mail, adding that only three people were ejected from the events during 2013 and 2014. By “safe,” we assume they mean safe for the humans, not the animals.

Other sources from the zoo have told numerous news outlets that these drunken, late-night visitors are impacting the animal’s sleep and stress levels. This seems pretty obvious of an impact — these party goers are drunk, after all! Of course they are a danger to the animals. In fact, on a Friday evening in July, The Guardian reported that they “witnessed crowds shouting in the gorilla area beneath a sign reading, ‘Respect our home, be thoughtful, be quiet, be kind.’ Security guards intervened only when flash photography was used.”

The Daily Mail (note: the people pictured above were not involved in abuse)

In theory, these Zoo’s Late parties may seem like a great fundraising idea. But in practice, the risks outweigh the benefits, and the already imprisoned animals stand to lose the most.

For more resources and information on animals in zoos, see these 10 Reasons to Skip Your Next Zoo Visit and these Top 5 Misleading Claims Zoos Make.