A jaguar which featured at an Olympic torch ceremony in Brazil was killed shortly after the event, the army has said.
The animal was shot dead by a soldier after it escaped from its handlers in the Brazilian Amazon city of Manaus.
The jaguar was killed on Monday at a zoo attached to a military training center where the Olympic torch ceremony was held.
A soldier fired a single pistol shot when the escaped animal, despite being tranquilized, approached the soldier, the army said.
"We made a mistake in permitting the Olympic torch, a symbol of peace
and unity, to be exhibited alongside a chained wild animal. This image
goes against our beliefs and our values," the local organising committee
Rio 2016 said in a statement.
"We guarantee that there will be no more such incidents at Rio 2016," the committee added.
The shooting caused uproar among animal rights groups, which pointed to the recent killing of a gorilla at a Cincinnati zoo
and alligators at Walt Disney World in Orlando as evidence of flawed
policy towards wild animals. Many questioned why the animal was involved
in the Olympic event.
"When will we learn? Wild animals held
captive and forced to do things that are frightening, sometimes painful,
and always unnatural are ticking time bombs - our actions put them and
humans at risk," Brittany Peet, director of captive animal law
enforcement at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) .
In Brazil, the Rio de Janeiro-based animal rights group Animal Freedom Union asked the same question.
"When
will people (and institutions) stop with this sick need to show power
and control by confining, taming and showcasing wild animals?" it said
on its Facebook page.
"This needs to stop," tweeted Animal Justice, a Canadian animal law organization.
The
use of Juma, as the jaguar was known, at the event was also illegal,
according to Ipaam, the Amazonas state government environmental
authority that oversees the use of wild animals.
"No request was
made to authorize the participation of the jaguar "Juma" in the event of
the Olympic torch," Ipaam said in a statement. Ipaam said it is
investigating the incident.
