This past week, a very interesting video surfaced on the internet. It showed a large kangaroo holding a dog in a head lock. A man is seen approaching the kangaroo and it seems that due to this, the kangaroo releases the dog from the headlock. Next, the man and the kangaroo square up, and the man punches the kangaroo in the face. The kangaroo looks stunned and then proceeds to hop away while the man walks away unharmed.
Now when I first saw this video, I actually laughed out loud for a few reasons. First, the man appears to be so angry that the kangaroo is hurting the dog he literally runs up to him and punches him square in the face. If a wild animal had my dog in a headlock, I would honestly do whatever means it took to free my dog. Second, the reaction of the kangaroo was quite funny. He was stunned that the guy punched him and reacted very humanly before hopping away. Honestly, I didn't think much more of this video.
Then I saw a headline from PETA, saying that the man who punched the kangaroo should be investigated by the RSPCA, which is the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The PETA article states:
"Since the man – a zookeeper at Taronga Zoo – punched the kangaroo only after the dog was already well clear of the animal’s grasp, this was a totally unnecessary act...This guy not only assaulted a wild animal – potentially injuring his jaw, nose, or eyes – but also put the dogs at risk of serious injury by using them for hunting."
Well if the man was a zookeeper, doesn't he know how to handle a situation like this, and sure, the initial thought of punching the animal, especially since he had already let the dog go, was aggressive, but the man probably felt that if the kangaroo was punished for going after the dog, maybe he wouldn't do it again? In addition to this, the authorities say that the dogs were hunting dogs which is strongly advised against and dangerous for them. But while this is true, what would have happened if the dog was killed by the kangaroo? Honestly, one of the hunters would have probably shot the kangaroo. So while the dogs were technically not supposed to be in this area, the kangaroo still approached the dog with the intent of harming it. Would it be fair to compare this situation to that of Harambe's? So yeah a kid definitely should not have been in Harambe's enclosure, however, he was, and as a result, the gorilla was killed. Now, there isn't even a set law that the dogs should not be in this area, it is simply advised that they don't hunt here. That makes the dog and the kangaroo equal guests on the land. Therefore, the kangaroo doesn't have a right to attempt to kill the dog.
Also apparently kangaroos can suffer from stress myopathy after being confronted by humans or dogs, which can lead to death. So we don't know if the kangaroo died. But either way, the dog was also at risk.
So I guess it comes down to the question the dog or the kangaroo? Personally, I would save the dog, but apparently, PETA has taken another side to the argument.
