Lions & Deer Videos at National Zoo

Thanks to the immediacy of YouTube, more people than ever are able to load content on the web. Sunday, November 8th when a deer fell into the lions enclosure at National Zoo in Washington, D.C., someone was there to capture the arresting images with a full crowd including children, standing by watching.

At National Zoo, even though the lions were doing what comes naturally to them and their predatory instincts kicked in, zoo security and staff once aware of the situation attempted to get the crowd to disperse. Zoo staff then worked to isolate the lions away from the terrified deer. Despite rescue attempts, the deer was euthanized and died of injuries related to the incident.

If you were in the crowd, would you have ushered away your children so they wouldn't have to witness a lion slaughtering a deer? Would you have simply walked away? Online do you press play? There is no actual bloodshed depicted on the videos of the lions and deer at National Zoo. In fact, it's not much different than those Mutual of Omaha nature shows show on television.

In fact, on some random searches on YouTube, I was able to find some far more graphic videos such as live tiger feeding on an ox from a Tiger Zoo in China. I discovered there are many YouTube videos depicting cases of animal cruelty. Does it help to promote the plight of animal cruelty worldwide or simply exploit it?

Here's what YouTube has to say in their community guidelines: "We're not asking for the kind of respect reserved for nuns, the elderly, and brain surgeons...Don't post videos showing bad stuff like animal abuse".

What's YouTube's take on shocking and disgusting videos? "The world is a dangerous place. Sometimes people do get hurt and it's inevitable that these events may be documented on YouTube. If a video is particularly graphic or disturbing, it should be balanced with additional context and information. For instance, including a clip from a slaughter house in a video on factory farming may be appropriate."

When are videos not appropriate according to YouTube? "However, it's not okay to post violent or gory content that's primarily intended to be shocking, sensational or disrespectful...However, stringing together unrelated and gruesome clips of animals being slaughtered in a video may be considered gratuitous if its purpose is to shock rather than illustrate."

But it does beg the question. Had the bystander been able to actually capture a lion mutilating a deer, should the user be allowed to load graphic images onto YouTube? It's natural, it's the call of the wild. Or do we draw the line once blood is drawn.