Unfiltered Story #106360

I enter the butterfly house with my husband, toddler and baby. There are only a few groups of people inside so it is quite quiet. Near the entrance is a mother talking to her son, who is about 5 years old. He has apparently just touched a butterfly.
Mother: you can’t touch them. It’s going to die now.
Boy: *no reaction*
Mother: don’t touch the butterflies.
They slowly go through the exhibit with another woman and small girl, we follow slowly behind. Near the exit, the mother and other woman are chatting to each other while looking at their phones. The zoo keeper is facing the other way, talking to another visitor. The children are squatting next to a garden bed, and the boy picks up a stick and, holding it like a baseball bat, takes a swipe at a butterfly. Thankfully he misses. The mother takes no notice, and the keeper hasn’t seen it. I stand a few meters away, staring at the boy, waiting for him to do it again. A couple of butterflies pass near him and he starts thrashing the stick around.
Me: HEY! DON’T HIT THE BUTTERFLIES WITH A STICK!
Everyone turns to look and the mother hustles her son out, looking annoyed. I guess violently attacking butterflies is ok so long as you don’t touch them.