Zapashny commented on the attempt to poison a leopard in the Moscow Zoo

Attempts to harm animals must be stopped, and the initiators of such "actions" must be punished. Edgard Zapashny, director of the Bolshoi Moscow State Circus, told Izvestia on May 28.

According to him, animals can react differently to both food and medicines. That is why signs are installed in all zoos around the world so that visitors do not feed the animals.

"All this is done for safety. Unfortunately, the sadism that sometimes comes from people in zoos is not an isolated one. I have been to many zoos, where precedents were created when people climbed over the fence to animals, tried to scare them, and took sharp objects with them," Zapashny said.

He stressed that such behavior cannot be explained. In addition, it is impossible to put guards at each aviary to avoid such situations.

"I am in favor of such actions being severely suppressed and the perpetrators being truly punished, because we have no right to commit cruelty to animals. We are responsible for those whom we not only tamed, but also took responsibility for their lives," concluded Zapashny.

The fact that an unknown person tried to poison a leopard with pills in the Moscow Zoo became known on May 27. It was noted that the cameras recorded how the man threw pills to the leopard through the fence. Police officers later detained the suspect.