Zoo director accused of killing four pygmy goats and serving them up at a Christmas party | World News
According to authorities, a former zoo director in Mexico killed four zoo pygmy goats and treated them to a Christmas party.
Officials said the investigation found that some of the animals in the collection of the local zoo in the southern city of Chilpancingo were allegedly sold, traded or eaten on the orders of José Rubén Nava.
But the most shocking allegation was made by the state department of the environment’s director of wildlife conservation, who said Nava had killed four of the zoo’s pygmy goats and cooked them for a year-end banquet.
Fernando Ruiz Gutiérrez said: “These four animals were slaughtered and cooked on the zoo grounds and served as food at the end of the year party.
“It endangered the health of the people who ate them because these animals were not fit for human consumption.”
The state Department of Environmental Protection said the zebra was being traded for tools, and deer and Watusi cattle were sold to private individuals without proper accounting.
It was not clear if Nava was formally charged in this case or if he had a lawyer.
Nava was replaced as director of the zoo on January 12 following the death of a deer there.
He also allegedly traded the zoo’s zebra for some tools needed to repair things on the property, but inspection found no such tools at the facility.
Mexico has long had a problem with individuals illegally acquiring exotic animals.
For years, drug dealers in Mexico have been known to build private menageries with lions, tigers, and other wildlife. Sometimes they run away, causing panic.
