Note to future giraffe transporters... watch out for bridges

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Those responsible for the death of a giraffe whose head struck a South African highway overpass while it was being transported in a truck will likely be prosecuted under animal protection laws, an official said Friday.

The accident on a highway between Pretoria and Johannesburg on Thursday was very unsettling because it could easily have been avoided, said Rick Allan, an animal welfare officer.

"It's just so unnecessary," said Allan, head of the Pretoria area branch of Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The group's members were able to respond quickly to the giraffe accident because they were already out on the highway attending to a separate case of cattle stranded because of a truck breakdown, he said.

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"The impact of the giraffe's head on the bridge was so loud that my cousin, who was driving me, asked if someone had been shot," Moloi said. "I saw the giraffe hit its head very hard on the concrete under the bridge and kind of be propelled forward."

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