Zoos: Is there a safe way?

A 17-year-old gorilla has been killed after dragging a three-year-old boy who fell into his enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo.

The male gorilla, named Harambe, was shot Saturday by a special zoo response team, a move that is being defended by the zoo's director. The boy is expected to recover.

• Gorilla shot dead after boy falls into enclosure at Cincinnati Zoo

The reaction is divisive — ranging from praise for the zoo employees and their swift response, to mourning and outrage over the death of Harambe.

It's a complicated situation and it begs the question: is there a safe way for zoos to exist? Did the zoo react the right way? What would you have done in this circumstance? You weighed in below via CBC Forum — our live, hosted discussion about topics of national and international interest. Here are some of the most intriguing comments.

Please note that user names are not necessarily the names of commenters. Some comments have been altered to correct spelling and to conform to CBC style. Click on the user name to see the comment in the blog format.

Many don't want zoos at all and had plenty of pity for Harambe.

• "This is another tragic death for an animal who was most likely pulled from his natural environment, thrown into a zoo and is now dead. Yeah I get it the kid was in danger. But first of all, how was the enclosure not safe enough to have this happen. Zoos shouldn't even exist. An animal will always have instincts." — Asia Koughan
• "​Not sure why the boy's life is considered more valuable than the gorilla's." — Orig_Cdn​
• "A child purposefully slips into a security enclosure where he has no business being and a wild animal, held in captivity and confronted with this kid, is killed. Utterly disgusting. Zoos should be illegal." — Krakus
• "​Zoos have no place in society. If you wanna' see animals. watch a documentary or take a trip to Africa." — Denis Côte

Some blamed the three-year-old's parents ...

• "I would say it's the parents' fault. You assume a certain risk going to a location that has captured animals that belong in the wild. Parents should have been more alert." — Mike Wright
• "If the parents took care of their son, the gorilla would be alive ..." — Jaye

... while others came to their defence.

• "Kudos to the mother for remaining calm and instructing her child to remain calm and still in such a terrifying situation. We have no idea of how the child or parents were behaving, so very judgmental to assign blame to them." — liz_in_mississauga
• "​It only takes a spilt second for a child to run off.  You will need to have them attached to you by a leash if you don't want them to run off.  It's not bad parenting.  I have no respect for people who value the life of an animal (endangered or not), than the life of a child.  Shame on you all." — Matina

Several even tried to think of what lasting impact the incident would have.

• "If we're going to continue to have zoos, maybe certain exhibits should be adult-only. No kids allowed within 50 feet or whatnot. Sucks that some parents can't parent their kids correctly, but I guess they ruin it for everyone else's kids." — Nikolita
• ​"Very sad day. A tragedy that could have been much worse. More zoo staff needed to guard the animals would be a good idea. Admission will go up, but safer for animals. People can pay more to respectively visit the animals." — 2cents
• "I think that zoos are one of the few ways that people connect with wildlife, so we really need them to remind people that they are sharing the planet with other creatures. I think however, that these zoos need to have far higher standards and need to get much better government support in the preservation of wildlife instead of being at the mercy of ticket sales, given that they are responsible for the lives of rare creatures." — JayKay

You can read the full CBC Forum live blog discussion on the role of zoos below.

Can't see the forum discussion? Click here