Venezuela is facing a devestating food shortage following the country's economic crash, and in particularly depressing news, it's now being reported that the animals in a Venezuelan zoo are starving to death as a result. 50 animals have died in the last six months as the country’s chronic food shortages continue. This has left Venezuelan parks like La Laguna seeking donations from strained local business to feed their animals.
'We are doing all that is humanly possible to ensure the zoo continues to function,’ said Oslander Montoya, an accountant involved with the zoo’s funding. Some of the deceased animals include Vietnamese pigs, tapirs, rabbits and birds, while others haven't eaten in two weeks.
Caricuao Zoo staffers have been feeding carnivorous lions and tigers diets of mango and pumpkin, elephants tropical fruit instead of hay, and other big cats are reportedly being fed slaughtered Thoroughbred horses from a nearby racetrack. ‘Long-term, feeding the incorrect diet for any animal can have significant long-lasting health effects,’ Meredith Whitney, a wildlife rescue program officer of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), told the National Geographic.
Staff are now attempting to move 12 animals more than 420 miles (676 kilometers) south to a park in Mérida. ‘If these zoos continue to operate after these animals are transferred and get new animals, [the suffering] could arise again,’ Whitney says.
This tragedy goes on as Venezuelans desperately search for basic food supplies. Shortages have come about because of the country’s economic crash, involving the mishandling and plummeting of the price of oil (Venezuela is a major oil producer). The country has been left in ruins as it can’t afford to import food, toiletries, medicine, and other necessities. Hungry Venezuelans - including pregnant women, children and elderly - crossed into Colombia last Sunday after the border was temporarily opened to buy basic food and toiletries.
'The story of the animals at Caricuao is a metaphor for Venezuelan suffering,' Marlene Sifontes, union leader for INPARQUES employees, tells Reuters. The nation’s starving economy has driven people to hunt dogs, cats, and pigeons for food. On Monday, visitors to a zoo in Caracas, the nation’s capital, reportedly stole a horse and butchered it for meat.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.