Dina Manzo Says She "Will Never Go to Another Zoo" After Harambe the Gorilla Death

The #RHONJ alum speaks out against animals held in captivity.

By Laura Rosenfeld Jun 7, 2016, 11:15 AM ET

Dina Manzo loves her animals, and in the wake of Harambe the gorilla being shot and killed to save a 3-year-old boy that had fallen into his enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo at the end of May, The Real Housewives of New Jersey alum wrote a lengthy Instagram post speaking out about animals held in captivity on Monday.

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The post featured a photo of a monkey in captivity holding Dina's hand instead of taking a peanut she was trying to feed it. "When are people going to understand that their lives matter too? They feel and understand just like us humans," she said. "I am all for institutions that preserve and keep the endangered species alive. But I think the days we pay money to oogle at them needs to end, there has to be another way to support. I will never go to another zoo again. #harambe."

That time when I was feeding the monkey in captivity and he chose to hold my hand instead of taking the peanut. When are people going to understand that their lives matter too? They feel and understand just like us humans. I am all for institutions that preserve and keep the endangered species alive. But I think the days we pay money to oogle at them needs to end, there has to be another way to support. I will never go to another zoo again. #harambe. Add on ( for those of you inquiring. I do believe the zoo did what they had to do in the case of Harambe. But in my opinion the child should have never had the chance to fall in. Especially since he was expressing he wanted to go in. My mother had 11 children. Never once did she take her eyes off of us in a public forum. I don't think the child should be taken from his mother. No child should, but this should be a HUGE lesson for parents everywhere. A zoo, a park, a mall, your front yard...a tragedy can strike anywhere) in no way shape or form am I saying or ever did that the animals life is more important than the child's. The post was specifically to show my support pertaining to animals held in captivity. This wouldn't have happened if there was no zoo.
A photo posted by dinamanzo (@dinamanzo) on Jun 6, 2016 at 10:29am PDT

Dina later elaborated on the post and addressed the Harambe controversy more in depth. "I do believe the zoo did what they had to do in the case of Harambe. But in my opinion the child should have never had the chance to fall in," she wrote. "My mother had 11 children. Never once did she take her eyes off of us in a public forum."

The RHONJ animal lover went on to clarify that she doesn't think the child should be taken away from his mother but that this incident "should be a HUGE lesson for parents everywhere." She said she believes the problem lies in the fact that Harambe was put in a zoo in the first place. "The post was specifically to show my support pertaining to animals held in captivity," Dina said. "This wouldn't have happened if there was no zoo."

Dina previously showed her support for a Change.org petition seeking justice for Harambe.