Watch: This jaguar was shot after it escaped an Olympic Torch event in Brazil
The incident has prompted questions about the treatment of animals.
An Olympic torch relay event in Brazil turned tragic after an escaped jaguar had to be shot and killed. The jaguar was on display as part of the ceremonies at the Jungle Warfare Instruction Centre in Manaus. It was kept on a leash alongside a torch relay event when it escaped. After the jaguar attempted to attack a soldier that had been sent to capture it, handlers tried to shoot it with a tranquilizer and, when that failed, with a pistol.
“We made a mistake in permitting the Olympic torch, a symbol of peace and unity, to be exhibited alongside a chained wild animal,” the local organising committee said in a Facebook post. “This image goes against our beliefs and our values.”“We guarantee that there will be no more such incidents at Rio 2016.
The official Olympic team mascot for Rio 2016 is a smiling, yellow jaguar, called Ginga.
The incident received reactions from various animal rights groups. A conservation scientist for National Geographic said “the day and age in which the display of such a magnificent creature ‘brought to heel’ as a symbol of power or influence is in the past, and I would hope that this incident will serve as a poignant indicator to the world at large that these practices are no longer acceptable.”
In Brazil, the Rio de Janeiro-based animal rights group Animal Freedom Union asked a similar question. "When will people (and institutions) stop with this sick need to show power and control by confining, taming and showcasing wild animals?" it said on its Facebook page.