San Francisco Zoo Man Climbs Into Grizzly Bear Exhibit

news update=outrageous! ... check this crap!

Grizzly grotto adventurer wins round in court

(11-02) 19:04 PST SAN FRANCISCO --

A judge tossed out a trespassing charge Monday against a man who sneaked into the San Francisco Zoo's grizzly bear grotto, leaving the defendant facing just a misdemeanor count of bothering a dangerous animal.

Kenneth Herron wasn't trespassing, Judge Wallace Douglass ruled, because he had no intention of staying in the enclosure for a long time - which the defense argued was the legal definition of the misdemeanor offense.

Douglass' ruling leaves Herron facing just one charge as his trial proceeds in Superior Court, a count of willfully disturbing dangerous animals. The defense is expected to argue today that Herron's troubled mental state explained his behavior and that he should be acquitted.

Herron's lawyer, deputy public defender James Conger, cited legal precedent that to be convicted of trespassing, someone has to seek "occupancy," akin to squatting. Conger argued that Herron "did not intend to make the bear enclosure his place of residency, nor did his actions convey any indication that he would."

The judge agreed.

Prosecutors were mystified by the ruling, saying trespassing does not have to mean an intent to squat in a particular location.

They noted that had Herron stayed longer in the grizzly grotto Sept. 26, its two ursine denizens would probably have mauled him to death.

"The defendant jumped an electrified wall and a separate fence, jumped 13 feet into a moat, perched himself in the grizzly bears' living area and showed no signs of leaving before zookeepers fired a shotgun and forcibly removed him," said Brian Buckelew, a spokesman for District Attorney Kamala Harris. "If that isn't trespassing, I don't know what is."

Zoo officials say Herron somehow entered an enclosure surrounded on three sides by a 15- to 20-foot rock wall topped by electrified wires, and on the fourth side by an impassable 14-foot-deep moat.

He managed to reach the quarters of the two 6-year-old, 500-pound female grizzlies just before the zoo closed at 5 p.m.

Zoo officials said one of the bears approached him and sniffed one of his shoes, and Herron froze. The zoo's armed response team fired a warning shot, and the bears went back to their den.

 

It is bad enough to have to witness the ignorance or plain escapist adventurism of those entering animal enclosures illegally in zoos. However, it is plain stupid how some juridicial authorities see this kind of behaviour. It is both sad, indicative of their failure to understand the concept of wild animals and complacency on the part of judicial authorities to deal with those perpetrating these crimes.

Yes, one would have to describe this kind of behaviour as crimes or felonies ... for which people should be prosecuted for! They should not be let off on the hook pretending it to be just some kind of domestic indiscretion. Furthermore, any judge is disqualified from judging wild animals for the very fact they have no (legal) clues whatsoever about wildlife, their ecology and/or behaviour nor of zoo management and husbandry and welfare guidelines.

It is exactly the above complacency and bloody-minded media attention now prevalent in some quarters of our society that hype these incidences and if not dealt with properly - as this case has not - will lead to a myriad of similar copy-cat crimes ... with even more horrific results.

 

lets hope the copy cats stay away. our zoo has had too much negativity to deal with since those dilwad bros got tatiana murdered for their crimes.

 

I think they should sue him for every cent he has.

 

will never happen. just like seeing a sign that says "enter at your own risk, we will not harm our animals in attempts to helps you" will never be seen, but should be posted.

 

...

It is amazing how many people comment on these threads that have no idea what they are talking about...

 

It is even more amazing how people will respond to comments with insults, yet no substance to back them up at all.

 

KC I agree

 

I was referring to yourself, as you have nothing to back up what you said above.

 

KC it wasnt an insult and if I have offended you Im sorry... maybe to put it a different way I find that even though this is a public forum and all theories and opinions are valid some people will comment just to comment without any knowledge of the subject. I do beg everyones pardon.