Child with Finger Severed by Zoo Rabbit... Controversy Over Responsibility Between Zoo and Parents

After the accident, the zoo hastily posted warning signs
"Zoo Negligence" vs "Guardian Carelessness" Sparks Debate

A 15-month-old child was bitten by a rabbit at a zoo, resulting in a finger amputation injury, yet the zoo failed to offer a proper apology or compensation. Recently, an online community post titled "A junior baby experienced an absurd incident of having their hand bitten and amputated by a zoo rabbit" was uploaded.

The child injured by the rabbit eventually underwent surgery, resulting in a deformed and shortened finger.
[Photo by Online Community]

The junior family of Mr. A, who wrote the post, visited a zoo located in Jeju Island with their child on the 2nd of last month and experienced this incident. Mr. A claimed, "While entering the open rabbit enclosure for an experience, the staff told the children to come inside. During the rabbit viewing experience with the group and the junior’s child, the staff handed the rabbit to the children to hold and take pictures. Suddenly, the 15-month-old junior child started crying, and it was seen that the rabbit was biting the child's finger."

The accompanying video shows several rabbits surrounding the child. Among them, a black rabbit is biting the child's finger. Mr. A said, "The baby's finger was amputated, showing the cross-section. Meanwhile, the staff brought ointment and told them to go to the hospital quickly. They stopped the bleeding and went to the hospital, where emergency surgery was performed to suture the wound, but the child ultimately underwent surgery, and the finger became deformed and shortened."

He added, "The loss assessor came to the hospital and said that there has never been compensation for such a case, so compensation would be difficult. Meanwhile, the zoo hastily posted warning signs." It is known that the child with the injured finger is currently receiving outpatient treatment. Mr. A said, "While the child was hospitalized, the zoo did not make a single phone call, and even when the representative was called, they said they were busy at the airport and hung up." He also said, "The hospital bills and settlement money later proposed were ridiculously low."

Netizens’ opinions on the story were divided. One netizen criticizing the zoo’s negligence said, "They conducted an experience where you could take pictures with animals that can bite and have aggressive tendencies. Even if rabbits mostly do not bite people, I think it is proper to take the best possible action when such an accident occurs." Another netizen pointed out the guardians’ fault, saying, "Isn’t it common knowledge among guardians that being bitten by a rabbit is dangerous, even if no warning signs are posted?"