Feds drop probe into Puerto Rico zoo where various species died before getting transferred to US sanctuary

Federal officials said Wednesday they are closing all investigations into Puerto Rico’s only zoo where various species have died after reaching an agreement with the local government to transfer the animals to sanctuaries on the US mainland. .

The announcement angered many activists, who have held the US territory’s government responsible for more than a decade of deaths and poor health of the animals, which at Dr. Juan A. Rivero is at the zoo.

US Attorney Stephen Muldrow said, “We can’t change what happened in the past.” “The animals died.”

Puerto Rico’s only zoo is closing after years of suspected negligence, lack of resources

However, he insisted 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 lone elephant.

“The welfare of the animals is the number one priority,” Muldrow said at a news conference.

He added that violations at the zoo lasted “many years”, with “the various administrations not being able to guarantee the well-being of the animals.”

He said it was an institutional problem as well as a lack of resources: “There was no willful harm to the animals.”

On July 7, 2017 in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, Dr. Juan A. A rhinoceros rests inside an enclosure at the Rivero Zoo. Federal authorities are closing an investigation into allegations of animal abuse. (AP Photo/Danica Coto, File)

But activists say that ending the federal investigation means there is impunity and no justice will be served for animals who die or become ill.

“We were demanding that the federal government do its job: investigate the violations,” said Christian Rios, a lawyer and chair of an animal rights commission at the Puerto Rico Association of Attorneys. “It leaves a bad taste in our mouths.”

In the past decade, a government-appointed committee noted that two pumas had died and raised concerns about an underweight chimpanzee, a rhinoceros named Felipe who was limping and animals including a kangaroo and a porcupine. There was a lack of shelter.

Activists demand closure of Puerto Rico zoo after deaths

In January, an American black bear named Nina, who had stopped eating, died of a heart attack at the age of more than 20. Black bears can live up to 35 years in captivity.

Meanwhile, officials had to euthanize a puma last week that was diagnosed with cancer, Muldrow said.

He said that almost all of the animals would be transferred within the next six months, noting that two eagles had already been removed because the zoo was not licensed to care for them, and that two owls and two anacondas have also been transferred elsewhere within the island.

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Earlier this month, Pat Craig, executive director of The Wildlife Animal Sanctuaries in Colorado and Texas, told The Associated Press that the organization would take 50% of the zoo’s animals.

However, it is still unknown where some of the animals will end up, including a lone elephant named “Mundi”. Muldrow said officials are trying to find an elephant sanctuary because they are a social species and must be kept in groups.

The zoo, which opened in 1954, has been closed since Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated Puerto Rico in September 2017.