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Rio 2016: Jaguar in Amazon torch relay shot dead

Photo: AFP

 

A jaguar has been shot dead shortly after it was used in an Olympic torch relay at a zoo in the Brazilian city of Manaus, the army said, the BBC reports.

The female jaguar escaped its handlers after the ceremony on Monday and attacked a soldier, a spokesman said.

Four tranquiliser darts failed to stop it and a soldier shot it with a pistol.

Organisers for the Rio Games said it had been a mistake to exhibit the Olympic torch next to a chained wild animal.

Animal rights groups have condemned the killing, with some questioning why the animal was involved in the Olympic event.

Emil Lazarian: “I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy Armenia . See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.” - WS
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