Two idiots sentenced after breaking into zoo, hitting giraffe with bottle and posting the video online
20 January 2023, 14:21 | Updated: 20 January 2023, 14:48
Men broke into zoo and hit giraffe with bottle before posting video on Snapchat
Two men attacked a giraffe with a bottle after breaking into a zoo and posted it to Snapchat.
Bradley Green and Nathan Daniels hurled the bottle after getting into Marwell Zoo in Hampshire - where Daniels worked - in February 2021.
It was abandoned due to coronavirus restrictions and during their exploration they threw an object that hit Ursula the giraffe in its neck.
One giraffe, spooked by what happened, received two long gashes to its leg after it knocked itself against the door.
They also damaged the penguin enclosure and filmed a tiger, where a disinfectant bottle, sticks and stones were found.
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A bucket and a bottle of disinfectant were found in the giraffe enclosure.
Armed police swooped on the zoo after their video was seen on the social media app.
Green, 24, of Fareham pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal and damaging the giraffe enclosure.
Daniels, 21, also of Fareham, admitted damaging the penguin enclosure and a fence at the zoo.
Judge Richard Parkes KC said: "Almost two years ago, you two together had the idiotic idea of driving to Marwell Zoo during lockdown, when Marwell Zoo was closed to the public due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"You, Green, broke a door at the rear of the giraffe house. You threw the bucket and bottle of disinfectant into the enclosure and you threw something at the giraffe which we see from the video that you took.
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"It struck the giraffe on the neck. One of the giraffes had an injury to its leg, with two long gashes, which was discovered the next morning.
"It happened from the giraffe being distressed, knocking itself against the door."
He sentenced them to a 12 month community order with 120 hours of unpaid work and told to pay £750 to the zoo in compensation.
He added: "It caused a great deal of public outrage at your behaviour because people are rightly sensitive at behaviour causing damage to a zoo and to animals.
"You acted in a deplorable fashion for which you must be punished. Public outrage would be such that many members of the public would like to see you in prison for this behaviour."
The prosecutor, Ellie Fargin, said the objects found in the tiger enclosure had been hurled in to "cause distress" to the big cat, which had shown "distress".
A door in the giraffe enclosure was found damaged.
"The damage must have been caused by the giraffe or giraffes hitting it with force and that would have been done if they were in distress," Ms Fargin said.
A life ring at the penguin enclosure was found.
"The penguins displayed behaviour consistent with anxiety and distress from being disturbed," she added.
Green is said to have ADHD and deeply regrets his actions, his defence lawyer Daniel Reilly said.
He said he threw the bottle to get Ursula's attention, and the "animal lover" endured a "social media backlash" over the incident.
Graham Gilbert, for Daniels, said it showed a lack of maturity and his client has lost his job working for a contractor at the zoo.
