Few could deny the death of endangered silverback gorilla Harambe is a sad story.

But it’s hardly the modern-day parable some animal liberationists are painting it as.

Predictably, protesters are hyperventilating on outrage, with a petition seeking justice for the slain gorilla surpassing 400,000 signatures.

There are calls for the zoo to face criminal sanctions for its decision and the parents of the small child are being excoriated on social media.

Calls for the parents to be charged for child neglect are patently absurd.

As any parent knows, it takes but a split second for a child to vanish from your view.

In its frenzy of finger-pointing, the mob has lost sight of a fundamental point: a human life is worth more than that of an animal.

That’s a controversial point to make in a world infected with political correctness, where the mere whiff of a comment that might offend the sensibilities of a minority group is akin to a federal crime.

And yet it’s undeniable.

Humans are at the top of the food chain for a reason.

We have a right to use animals for nourishment, education, companionship, transport and, sometimes, even for amusement, if we do so in a respectful manner.

The only question then for the zoo to answer is if the gorilla posed a genuine threat to the child’s life.

The zoo maintains it did, pointing to the fact it was dragging the child’s head across concrete and that gorillas are volatile by nature.

It claims shooting the gorilla with a tranquiliser may have simply agitated it further.

Leading Australian animal behaviourist Gisela Kaplan said the boy was not in any real danger, claiming “usually a child is not a threat”.

But “usually” doesn’t cut it when you’re dealing with a human life under threat from an animal.

Hypotheticals are also unhelpful at this time.

The truth is, no one knows how the gorilla would have reacted having a small child in its enclosure.

The zoo made a snap judgement call and one that it would rightly do again should the situation arise.