When an escaped zebra was chased down by police in Gifu Prefecture last month and died after being shot with a tranquilizer and falling into a pool, I couldn't help but think of the drills Tokyo's Ueno Zoo has conducted depicting the escape scenario.
Why did Ueno Zoo use a zebra? Zoo worker Yumi Tamura told reporters that a zebra panics easily. I bet the Gifu police didn't know that.
Having no practical experience in an emergency situation isn't necessarily a bad thing, but there are certain advantages to having had some. Perhaps the Gifu police could have saved the zebra if they had the zoo keepers' knowledge and experience, but 20/20 hindsight is of little help in safeguarding either animals or a nation.
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