Snapchat video shows bottle being thrown at giraffe when men broke into Marwell Zoo
The Snapchat video shows a bottle being thrown at a giraffe at Marwell Zoo
Two men "idiotically" broke into a zoo and threw a bottle at a giraffe before posting a video of it on Snapchat.
Bradley Green and Nathan Daniels, from Fareham, Hampshire, have admitted breaking into Marwell Zoo on 15 February, 2021.
A police helicopter and armed officers were called out after someone spotted the video on the social media site and called 999.
Green, 24, of Salterns Estate, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal and damaging the giraffe enclosure.
Daniels, 21, of Alexander Grove, pleaded guilty to damaging the penguin enclosure and a fence surrounding the zoo.
Appearing at Winchester Crown Court, the defendants were sentenced by judge Richard Parkes KC to a 12-month community order with 120 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £750 compensation each to the zoo.
Following the sentencing Marwell issued the following statement: "Marwell Zoo would like to thank everyone involved in investigating the break-in overnight on 15 February 2021 during Covid restrictions.
"We’d also like to thank Judge Richard Parkes KC for recognising the severity of what happened and the impact it had on our animals, staff, volunteers and local community, when sentencing.
"We have always worked hard to connect people with nature, whilst highlighting ways of limiting human impact on the environment and illustrating the role that species conservation and breeding plays in restoring those environments.
"It is deeply saddening to think that there are still people within our communities who do not understand the messages we work so hard to promote.
"We would like to thank everyone who sent comments, messages and donations. It really did mean a lot."
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