The puma was shot to death about four hours after it escaped it enclosure at Daejeon O World through a door left unlocked by staff. Authorities said it was an ‘inevitable’ decision to shoot the animal, as initial attempt to capture it using a nonlethal air gun with a tranquilizer had failed. “The safety of the general public may have been at risk unless they shot the animal,” they added.

However, protesters said that it actually did not escape the zoo and did nothing to attack people either. It was not the puma’s fault that the door was left unlocked. She was locked up for eight years and just enjoyed four hours of freedom. 

The next day of her death, the Blue House’s website was flooded with petitions regarding the incident. One asked for the zoo keepers who left the gate open and the person who shot the puma to be punished for causing the death of the puma, which is an endangered animal. Moreover, the online petition asking for all zoos to be shut down  has been signed by about 50,000 people since the zoos caused risk to wild animals under the guise of protecting them. Environmental groups say that the fundamental solution is to designate inappropriate species raising in zoos. Animal suddenly exposed to artificial environments are likely to become more aggressive under stress, which could lead to safety accidents. They pointed out that if the stress of animals raised in zoos is not reduced, accident will have to be repeated. 

Zoo law must be revised again to make the zoo a place for animal welfare, not for ‘entertainment.’.