Horror as zoo animals feared EATEN by starving Venezuelans
MISSING zoo animals are feared to have been eaten by starving Venezuelans as the country is gripped by a political and economic crisis.
The south American country is thought to be on the brink of collaps
The South American country is on the brink of collapse as the economic nosedive has left the nation in poverty.
In response to the dire circumstances, a spate of thefts from parks and zoos in Maracaibo is being attributed to hungry residents, desperate for something to eat.
Heading towards malnourishment it is thought the creatures have been used to feed people in the midst of chronic food shortages, with many supermarket shelves bare.
The head of the Zulia Metropolitan Zoological Park in Maricabo said over the past few weeks 10 species had been stolen.
According to local police the most recent theft saw two collared peccaries - similar to boars - taken over the weekend.
Luis Morales, an official for the Zulia division of the National Police, said: “What we presume is that they (were taken) with the intention of eating them.”
The animals themselves are thought to be starving as the food shortage took hold
Former zoo director Muricio Castillo added two tapirs, an animal similar to a pig, had also been snatched recently.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature describes the tapirs as “vulnerable to extinction”.
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We presume is that they (were taken) with the intention of eating them
But the head of the zoo claimed the animals were in fact taken by drug dealers to sell on the black market.
Leonardo Nunez, head of the Zulia Metropolitan Zoological Park, said: “They take everything here! The animals weren't stolen to be eaten.”
It is thought the creatures have been used to feed people
The animals themselves are thought to be starving as the food shortage took hold, with some 50 animals believed to have died over the past six months.
The Government denied that was the case, insisting they were treated “like family".
The zoo thefts are seen as a last resort for the starving residents, who have been left facing crippling food shortages since the country’s economy collapsed.
Over the past few weeks 10 species had been stolen
Millions of Venezuelans are resorting to looking in bins for scraps, as well as stealing the zoo animals.
Despite the crisis facing the country president Nicolas Maduro blamed the food shortage on the ’opposition’, supported by Washington.