Mexico zoo director stole dozens of animals, fed goats to staffers

The director of a private zoo in southern Mexico stole 4 of the sanctuary’s pygmy goats and served them to workers at their Christmas celebration, authorities talked about.

José Rubén Nava is accused of working a ghastly scheme whereby he stole and acquired dozens of animals from Zoológico Zoochilpan in Chilpancingo, the capital of Guerrero.

In some circumstances, Nava, who was on the helm for just a few months, allegedly killed the animals for little objective.

“These four animals slaughtered and cooked on the zoo’s premises, and were served as food at the year-end party,” Fernando Ruiz Gutierrez, the state environment division’s director of wildlife, talked about of the pygmies.

“This put the health of the people who ate them at risk, because these animals were not fit for human consumption.”

The alleged abuse was uncovered on Jan. 14 when a neighbor of the zoo found an injured deer affected by canine bites and an injured leg shut to his residence, EL PAÍS reported. The deer was launched once more to the hospital, the place it died a quantity of days later.

Nava was fired after the deer’s escape for mistreatment of the animal; its leg was sown up with out anesthesia and its antlers had been cut back off.

While investigating the deer’s alleged mistreatment, officers discovered that dozens of animals had gone missing all through Nava’s fast reign over the zoo.

Nava allegedly traded a zebra to a person in Querétaro, about 300 miles away, in alternate for 3 pink deer. He can be accused of shopping for and promoting 4 watusis bulls to any individual throughout the State of Mexico, some 160 miles away, in alternate for provides and devices wanted “for the proper functioning of the facilities of this zoo,” officers talked about.

Four of the zoo’s 10 pygmy goats had been executed and served to the zoo’s private workers, officers claimed.

The whereabouts of a jaguarundi, a coyote, 10 reptiles, a toddler macaw and a red-tailed hawk are totally unknown, whereas a quantity of births that occurred all through Nava’s path weren’t registered or had been filed as false deaths, officers allege.

Nava faces costs for species trafficking and animal abuse, together with crimes in opposition to properly being, in accordance with EL PAÍS.

With Post wires