chimps killed after escaping zoo

That's really awful, why did they have to be shot? Why are animals so afraid of 'wild' animals? It seems like these stories where captive creatures escape always end badly for the animals. I remember a similliar story in florida about an escaped puma, it was killed by sheriff's deputies. This shit makes me very sad. What could those chimps possibly do that was worth their lives?

Chimps Shot Dead After Zoo Escape
September 13, 2005 8:00 a.m. EST

Hector Duarte Jr. - All Headline News Staff Reporter

Royal, NE (AHN) - A zoo director says three chimpanzees were shot and killed after escaping from their enclosure at a small-town zoo.

Ken Schluter Jr. says the chimps managed to get out of their cage at Zoo Nebraska on Saturday because a padlock was not completely closed after cleaning. When a tranquilizer gun proved to have no effect, he killed the animals using a deputy's service revolver . State patrol spokeswoman Deb Collins says no one was hurt.

Schluter says once the chimps broke out, visitors were moved into an office area. The chimps, weighing up to 300 pounds, then tried to get into the building. Two of them were shot with a tranquilizer gun, but after five minutes, the sedative had not taken effect. When it was obvious they were a danger to those inside, they were killed. A fourth primate escaped, but quickly returned to its cage.

Their carcasses were flown Sunday to a zoo in St. Louis, where autopsies are planned. The zoo is located in Royal, a northeastern Nebraska village of 75. One of its major donors was the late Johnny Carson.