Visitor brutally kills tortoise at Budapest Zoo – surveillance footage released

A tortoise was harmed with a piece of cobblestone at Budapest Zoo during the week. The animal suffered life-threatening injuries and had to be euthanised. The zoo is pressing charges for animal torture and cruelty.

The zoo’s spokesperson informed the public about what had happened. The animal was hit by a rock which seriously damaged its carapace and internal organs, which lead to serious internal bleeding. The animal was found shortly before closing for the day, Origo reports.

The vets immediately realised that the animal suffered life-threatening injuries. The injuries were so severe that the poor animal would not make it until the next day. Unfortunately, the vets could not save its life and decided to do anaesthesia. The tortoise died not long after the incident. The zoo wants answers and is taking serious legal actions.

Luckily, surveillance camera footage was discovered soon after the incident. The attacker was a thin, 20-25-year-old woman with long brown hair. On the day of the incident, she was wearing a long-sleeved black blouse, an army green overalls and sneakers. Police asks anyone who has seen or has any kind of information about the woman in the photo to call immediately.

Photo: Police.hu

Budapest Zoo pressed charges. The police are currently investigating the case. The woman is facing charges of cruelty to an animal and animal torture.

The victim was a Hermann’s tortoise, which is one of the five tortoise species. This tortoise can be found all over Southern Europe: in Eastern Spain, Southern France, the Balearic Islands, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, South and Central Italy, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Turkey and Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Montenegro.

Hermann’s tortoises are small or medium-sized. Young animals usually have black and yellow-patterned carapaces, although the brightness may fade as time goes by to a less distinct grey, straw, or yellow colouration.

They have slightly hooked upper jaws and, like other tortoises, possess no teeth, just strong, horny beaks. Their scaly limbs are greyish to brown, with some yellow marks, and their tails bear a spur (a horny spike) at the tip. Adult males have particularly long and thick tails and well-developed spurs, distinguishing them from females.

Source: www.origo.hu; Wikipedia