Federal authorities said Wednesday they were dropping all investigations into Puerto Rico’s only zoo, where several species have died, after reaching an agreement with the local government to relocate the animals to sanctuaries in the continental United States.
The announcement angered many activists who have long fought to hold the US territory government accountable for the deaths and ill health of animals reported for more than a decade at the Dr. Juan A. Rivero Zoo in the western city by Mayaguez.
“We can’t change what’s happened in the past,” said US Attorney Stephen Muldrow. “The animals are dead.”
PUERTO RICO’S ONLY ZOO CLOSES AFTER YEARS OF SUSPECTED NEGLIGENCE AND LACK OF RESOURCES
However, he stressed that going to court would only delay the transfer of the zoo’s remaining animals, which number around 300 and range from a tarantula to a solitary elephant.
“Animal welfare is the number one priority,” Muldrow said at a news conference.
He added that the violations at the zoo had lasted for “many years”, with “several administrations failing to ensure animal welfare”.
He said it was an institutional problem as well as a lack of resources: “There was no intentional harm to the animals.”
A rhinoceros rests inside an enclosure at the Dr. Juan A. Rivero Zoo in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico July 7, 2017. Federal authorities are dropping their investigation into animal abuse allegations. (AP Photo/Danica Coto, Files)
But activists say ending the federal investigation means impunity has prevailed and no justice will be served for the dead or sick animals.
“We were demanding that the federal government do its job: investigate the violations,” said Christian Ríos, an attorney and chair of an animal rights committee at the Puerto Rico Bar Association. “This leaves a bad taste in our mouths.”
Over the past decade, a government-appointed committee noted the deaths of two pumas and raised concerns about an underweight chimpanzee, a rhino named Felipe who was limping, and the lack of shelter for animals including a kangaroo and a porcupine.
ACTIVIST CALL FOR PUERTO RICO ZOO TO BE CLOSED AFTER DEATHS
In January, an American black bear named Nina who had stopped eating died of a heart attack in her 20s. Black bears can live up to 35 years in captivity.
Meanwhile, officials had to put down a cougar diagnosed with cancer last week, Muldrow said.
He said nearly all of the animals will be relocated within the next six months, noting that two eagles have already been removed because the zoo didn’t have a license to care for them, and that two owls and two anacondas have also been relocated elsewhere at the time. interior of the island.
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Earlier this month, Pat Craig, executive director of The Wildlife Animal Sanctuary in Colorado and Texas, told the Associated Press that the organization will take in up to 50 percent of the zoo’s animals.
However, it is still unknown where some of the animals would have ended up, including the lone elephant called “Mundi”. Muldrow said officials are trying to find a sanctuary for the elephants as they are a social species and should be kept in groups.
The zoo, which opened in 1954, has been closed since hurricanes Irma and Maria hit Puerto Rico in September 2017.
