People should stop making memes and jokes about Harambe, the gorilla that was shot after a child fell in his enclosure, according to the Cincinnati Zoo where he lived.
At the end of May this year, a three-year-old climbed into the gorilla enclosure at the zoo in Ohio. After the child was grabbed by Harambe, a zoo worker shot and killed the gorilla, because officials were afraid that the boy would be killed.
Since then, Harambe has become memorialised in more or less sincere memes, jokes and petitions. Those take various forms, and come from various parts of the internet and from across the political spectrum.
Animal rights activist Anthony Seta organized a Cincinnati vigil in tribute to Harambe soon after he was killed. He said much of the attention in terms of memorials had been positive.
"For the most part, I'm very happy with it. It shows people are remembering what a wonderful being he was," he said. "The ones that are mocking and making light of the death of this being, I find incredibly offensive."
Ashley Byrne, an associate director at PETA, said that the trolls were in the minority among the people who were mourning the gorilla.
"This tragic incident really did start a new conversation," she said. "Most people who saw the video came away with a great degree of empathy for animals forced to live in captivity."
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