The situation in economically depressed Venezuela is so dire, workers at one zoo are slaughtering animals to feed others — with two emaciated pumas poster kids of sorts for the distressing state of affairs. The zoo — located in the town of San Francisco in Zulia state — closed down this month after horrific pictures surfaced showing starving animals. The list of malnourished creatures includes a lion, a
Bengal tiger, a jaguar and several birds of prey, zoo staffers told AFP recently. Ducks, pigs and goats have been sacrificed to feed other animals. The bone-thin pumas were saved from poachers, and photos of them published in the newspaper Panorama have shocked people across this oil-rich country — saddled by hyperinflation and acute food and medicine shortages as a result of lower petroleum prices. READ MORE
