Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein on Sunday released a statement on Harambe, the gorilla who was shot and killed at the Cincinnati Zoo
The killing of Harambe 3 months ago today reminds us to be a voice for the voiceless. https://t.co/wMZpWlLicY
Harambe was shot and killed by zoo staff on May 28 after a three-year-old boy fell into the gorilla exhibit.
He's since become a popular online meme, with endless trolling prompting the zoo to shut down its Twitter account this week.
"The killing of Harambe at the Cincinnati Zoo highlights the need to adopt stronger legal protections for the rights of animals," Stein said.
"Harambe was killed by a zoo which raises revenues by selling tickets to see captive animals, including primates," Stein continued. "While good emergency staff training might have prevented such a catastrophic outcome, the Green Party believes that captivity for such entertainment is ethically wrong and fundamentally exploitive and should be illegal."
The Green Party platform calls for the ethical treatment of animals among its ecological sustainability policies.
Stein's tweet and statement made some people ... a little confused.
@DrJillStein @mattdpearce OMG WTF.
Because this campaign season keeps getting weirder and weirder.
Jill Stein will not let trump win "Most Absurd Campaign" without a fight https://t.co/poITcfPwDX
Others accused Stein of pandering to young voters.
Jill Stein, Millennial voter-whisperer. https://t.co/FM7pEnFQ3K
But, to be fair, the Greens have long supported animal rights and opposed the use of animals in entertainment.
@DuckSpeech @DrJillStein Shes actually highlighting a valid point, simply because the Harambe meme is so crazy doesn't mean she's not right
But maybe Stein's just jealous: In one poll of Texas voters, she tied with Harambe, each earning about 2% of the vote.
@DrJillStein Is this an attempt to win over Harambe voters? He's still beating you in the polls.
Just 71 more days 'til the election!
@DrJillStein