An orangutan holds on to the iron bars in a cramped cage at the Manila Zoo. Animal rights groups are lobbying for the closure of zoos and to return the animals to the wilds. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Twitter is abuzz with Manila Zoo talk and netizens are baffled what’s causing the chirps.
“Why is Manila zoo trending worldwide?” asks jm0926.
“Oh nice Manila Zoo is Trending World Wide! But I do not have an idea why it is on list of Trending Topics!” says GhingBieber.
“Ano nangyari sa Manila Zoo? link pls!” says ImSuperDianne.
As of this posting, the first and oldest zoo in Asia was fifth in the global trends on Twitter.
guitaristaah offers an explanation.
“Manila Zoo is trending worldwide because the animals there are suffering. Please, let’s all do something about it,” she says as she urges the web community to sign a petition of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals deploring the sorry condition of animals in “cramped, barren cages that can’t compare to their natural habitats.”
One netizen shared a blog link showing photos of malnourished donkeys, and a rabbit and ostrich with untreated wounds. INQUIRER.net could not verify the authenticity of the photographs.
These for celebrity Anne Curtis (annecurtissmith) are impingement on animal rights. “Manila Zoo is way too small for an elephant and a tiger. They should be set free :(“
After reading the tweets, swaglikemiley concludes: “So I know now why Manila Zoo is trending. The animals are in a very poor state. They should take actions about that asap.”