Help Close Down the Caracas Caricuao Zoo in Venezuela!

  • by: Josee Lamontagne
  • recipient: Parque de recreacion zoologico Caricuao, President Julio Borges National Assembly of Venezuela, President Nicolás Maduro, Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, National Parks Institute (Inparques) Public Ministry, Ministry of Environment, A

More than upsetting!! Living beings with feelings that feel pain too physically and mentally! These poor animals are more than helpless, they cannot provide food for themselves, they depend on humans to feed them and care for them, what a disgrace! If they were not taken in zoos like this, it would of never happened! Humanity is to blame, with a selfish attitude for their own entertainment, animals should be left in their natural habitat, NOT BEHIND BARS depending on people that can't take care of them! These animals are dying slowly in agony, when they can be sent to sanctuaries where they can receive proper food and medical care, free from stress, concrete cement and bars! Help free these defenseless animals!!

Not only Ruperta the elephant suffers but all the other animals do!

Venezuela's worsening food shortages had tragic consequences for a rare show horse, when a group of intruders broke into the zoo in July 2016, pulled the black stallion from its cage, then slaughtered it for meat. Prosecutors say the crime occurred in the small hours of Sunday morning at Caracas' Caricuao Zoo, when "several people" sneaked into the state-run park under the cover of darkness and busted into the stallion's pen. The horse, the only one of its kind in the zoo, was then led to a more secluded area and butchered on the spot. Only its head and ribs were left behind in a gruesome pile for zookeepers to find after sunrise.

Sadly, this horse wasn't the first zoo animal to suffer the effects of Venezuela's crippling food shortages. Some Vietnamese pigs and sheep were reportedly stolen from the same zoo earlier that month in 2016.

Meanwhile, larger animals are reportedly showing signs of emaciation as the zoo runs out of feed. Two tapirs died of malnourishment, and zookeepers have resorted to feeding hippos, elephants, and goats an unusual diet of locally grown mangoes and squash while they wait for food supplies to arrive.

"The situation that our zoo is going through is very sad," said Marlene Sifontes, a union leader at INPARQUES, the government agency that runs the Caricuao zoo. "We have animals that have not eaten for up to 15 days, which affects their health", Sifontes told Reuters in a interview. (article by Manuel Rueda)

And, not only their physical health, but mental as well.

Sadly they wait till an animal dies and feed them to the tigers and lions, one witness says. Other big cats are reportedly being fed slaughtered horses from a nearby racetrack. Which is INTOLERABLE!!

Look at the condition of poor Ruperta the only African Elephant starving to death and which she has fell down from weakness, diarrhea and exhaustion! Her ribs jut through her sagging skin. While zoo officials publicly admit the elephant has lost a significant amount of weight, they deny that she is suffering from malnutrition. When neighbors held a drive to gather carrots and oranges for Ruperta, zoo officials refused the food!

If they cannot feed them properly and provide them with medical care, they must send them to sanctuaries that will!

This petition is to have the life conditions of all animals to be guaranteed, and relocate them in a accredited animal sanctuary. We need to remember that animals are endangered species protected by international laws that are being violated right now having the animals in this condition. Let's raise our voice in defense of those who cannot speak, and guarantee the life and living conditions that these beautiful animals deserve. The world is fighting to save animals from extinction, while they die in Venezuela locked up in zoos!

Please sign this petition, every signature matters!

(Image Source: @RcamachoVzla/Twitter) 

Dear Parque de recreacion zoologico Caricuao, President Julio Borges National Assembly of Venezuela, President Nicolás Maduro, Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, National Parks Institute (Inparques) Public Ministry, Ministry of Environment, APROA - Asociación Pro-Defensa de los Animales (Venezuela) Venezuela, Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in the United States, WAZA World Association of Zoos and Aquariums.



We urge you to remove the licence of the Caracas Caricuao Zoo in Venezuela, have it closed down and for all the animals that remain there to be relocated somewhere they can live out their lives in appropriate living conditions and to receive the care they fully need. It is shocking for many to see that all the animals there suffer from malnourishment and even stolen for human comsumption, please read this petition carefully so you can see clearly what the animals are going through in this zoo. Even local neighbors have brought carrots and other vegetables to feed a starving elephant, but the zoo officials refused the food! If they cannot take care and feed properly these poor defenseless creatures behind bars, they must resign and have them sent to accredited sanctuaries where they will receive medical care and food. The concerned people of Venezuela and all over the world will be grateful in you for doing so, this has spread worldwide and many people are very upset with this zoo.


On behalf of all of us who are concerned and specially the animals, their fate is in your hands, only you can make a differance.


Sincerely,


Josee Lamontagne and very concerned people throughout the world.

Update #16 years ago
3,218 signatures! Thank you everyone that have signed, please share this petition with others, via email, Twitter, etc. anyway you can share this far and wide! We have to win this! For the love of all these suffering animals!
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