Law Firm Fires Woman Caught Trespassing, Feeding Monkeys At Texas Zoo

An El Paso, Texas, law firm fired an employee after her monkey business went viral.

Lucy Rae was caught on camera feeding two spider monkeys under a waterfall at the El Paso Zoo and then climbing out of the animals' enclosure on Saturday, May 22. The video was shared on the Instagram account @fitfamelpaso, where it took off.

The video's description says Rae gave the monkeys hot cheetos, but the video is too blurry to clearly see what she's feeding them.

Backlash was swift. The El Paso Zoo Director Joe Montisano called Rae "stupid and lucky," KVIA reported.

"It was stupid. She knew what she was doing was wrong. She's very fortunate that it didn't have a worse outcome for her or the animals," Montisano said in an interview with the El Paso Times. "These are primates. They are strong; they have canine teeth. They can scratch. We don't interact with them on the daily. And we don't interact with them without a barrier in between us."

It didn't take Rae's employer long to find the video either. The Lovett Law Firm fired her on Monday and put out a statement saying the firm is "a strong supporter of animals and animal advocacy."

Rae's troubles don't end there. The zoo plans on pressing criminal charges.

"We just talked to police and we are going to proceed with pressing charges. And they will talk to the district attorney. We can't let this behavior go unpunished, Montisano said.

This is the second time this year visitors have been caught inside animal enclosures at the El Paso Zoo. A video from March shows to small children standing in front of the barrier that separates guests and the chimpanzee area.

Photo: Getty Images