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Title: Zoo keepers refuse to help sedated gorilla masturbate

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_700109.html

Zoo keepers refuse to help sedated gorilla masturbate

Kibabu the gorilla's inability to produce children has become an embarrassing industrial issue for Taronga Zoo in Sydney.

The zoo management's proposal for an artificial insemination programme using manual stimulation of the sedated gorilla was vetoed by zookeepers.

A zookeeper told the The Age : "It was too bloody dangerous. What if he woke up?"

Taronga officials confirmed the masturbation programme was proposed last May, but said there had been no further attempt to employ it.

"I believe it's done in Europe," a spokesman told the paper. "There's been a lot of discussion on how to get semen from Kibabu for artificial insemination."

Instead, Kibabu, whose harem numbers five females, will probably be stimulated by an electrical device, a process called electro-ejaculation.

Kibabu's failure emerged as about 350 zoo staff planned to stop work to discuss workplace agreement issues, including wages, working hours, stress and job-related risks.

Story filed: 18:35 Wednesday 30th October 2002