One federal inspection report noted that two guinea pigs were fed alive to reptiles, and that deer were fed to big cats after having their jugulars cut without using a humane slaughter method.
AP: ‘Federal inspections at Puerto Rico’s only zoo have found animals sacrificed inhumanely or for unclear reasons, inadequate veterinary care and a string of other problems. The reports obtained by The Associated Press span a decade up to its closure in 2017 and show inspectors accusing one former zoo veterinarian of covering up animal deaths, as well as complaining of expired medications, dirty and dilapidated enclosures and the presence of only a part-time veterinarian… Among the most troubling findings is a 2014 report in which an inspector stated that a puma, coatimundi and baboon were euthanized because they were “not fit for exhibition.”
“When I questioned this, the veterinarian really had no explanation. I find this disturbing. If these animals were not ‘fit for exhibition’ why did the zoo let them get this way without veterinary care or intervention & then decide to euthanize them,” the inspector wrote. The zoo has been closed since Hurricane Irma brushed past Puerto Rico in September 2017. Animal rights activists say they’re worried about the state of the animals and haven’t been allowed to see them…
One federal inspection report noted that two guinea pigs on exhibition were fed alive to reptiles, and that deer on exhibition were fed to big cats after having their jugulars cut without using a humane slaughter method. “These instances are not humane methods of euthanasia, and since the health status of these animals is not really known, it does not minimize disease transmissions &/or parasite infections to the animals being fed,” the report stated. In addition, inspectors reported that two impalas broke their necks shortly after they were introduced to other animals, that a sugar glider was killed by a rat and that one raccoon was killed by another’. SOURCE…
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