Livestream of giraffe giving birth at zoo pulled down after complaints of nudity

The owner of a New York zoo planning to live stream a giraffe giving birth says the video feed was briefly removed from YouTube because animal rights activists labelled it sexually explicit.

Animal Adventure Park started streaming video Wednesday of 15-year-old April in her enclosed pen at the zoo in Harpursville, 200 kilometres northwest of New York City. But owner Jordan Patch says YouTube removed the feed early Thursday after someone reported it was explicit and contained nudity.

“A lot of the criticism we’re receiving is not because anybody has a specific complaint, it’s just a fundamental belief that perhaps animals should not be in captivity,” Animal Adventure Park owner Jordan Patch told local news station WBNG, a CBS affiliate.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "A lot of the criticism we're receiving is not because anybody has a specific complaint, it's just a fundamental belief that perhaps animals should not be in captivity," Animal Adventure Park owner Jordan Patch told local news station WBNG, a CBS affiliate.

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In a video posted on the zoo’s Facebook page, Patch blamed “a handful of extremists and animal rights activists” for interrupting the stream from the “giraffe cam.” The livestream resumed on YouTube later Thursday morning.

“What got our video back online is the thousands and thousands of complaints and emails that YouTube received. The people, the fans, the people that are personally invested into this journey with April and her calf, they got the feedback on so we thank them,” Patch said.

READ MORE: Alarming increases in the number of animals rescued by shelters in 2016

April is expected to give birth to her fourth calf in the coming days.

“We continue to use the word ‘imminent.’ A calf is coming; it’s just a matter of when. It could be in another hour, it could be in another day. It’s the waiting game, but I think that’s part of the fun.”