Citizens and animal groups have urged that the wolf which escaped from a zoo in Daejeon not be shot.

The one-year-old wolf ‘Neukgu’ that escaped from the public zoo Daejeon O-World slipped out through a gap in the fence at around 9:15 a.m. on the 8th and left the zoo grounds. O-World, the fire department and police, and related agencies such as the Geum River Basin Environmental Office are conducting a search, but as of the morning of the 9th it had not been captured.

Citizens and animal groups are calling for ‘capture alive, not kill’. In 2018, the puma ‘Porongi’ escaped from O-World and was shot dead. At the time, the puma slipped out while a keeper had left a door open and was killed four hours and thirty minutes after escaping. Although the authorities have stated that live capture is the priority in the wolf search, concern is growing over the possibility of it being shot after it became known that licensed hunters are included in the search personnel.

Reactions have spread on social media. Users on X posted messages such as “I hope this time it is not shot,” and “Humans made the mistake, so please let the wolf return home safely.” On Instagram as well, responses continued: “Do not pin human wrongdoing on animals that cannot speak; make sure to capture it alive,” and “I hope no one is hurt, and that the wolf remains safe.”

Animal and environmental groups called for a cautious rescue that puts life first and for measures to prevent a recurrence. Animal Freedom Coalition said in a statement the previous day, “Although it has now become a predator that threatens public safety, Neukgu is a victim of this incident,” and pointed out, “The reality in which the life of an animal that had been confined could be put on the line as responsibility for an accident caused by poor facility management and structural defects is clearly unjust.”

Criticism was also raised over poor zoo management. The Bear Sanctuary Project said, “Animals do not desperately try to break out of their enclosures the way humans break out of prison. They simply move into whatever space they can go, which ends up being outside the enclosure,” adding, “Zoos that cannot provide even basic animal care should change their operating bodies and systems.”

The groups further argued that the very way of operating zoos as mere exhibition and viewing spaces should be reconsidered. Animal Freedom Coalition said, “We should not only hope for the animal’s ‘safe return’, but also reflect on building a society where animals are not forced to live such lives in the first place.” The Daejeon-Chungnam Green Alliance said, “Zoos should be transformed from prisons that animals want to escape into habitats for animals in need of protection.”