BajaNomad - Sanitago Zoo Closed

Sanitago Zoo Closed

bajajudy - 7-24-2009 at 09:28 AM

http://www.oem.com.mx/elsudcaliforniano/notas/n1255129.htm

A very rough translation:
FYI:The Ends=Los Cabos

The zoological of Santiago's population, municipality of The Ends, could be closed before a long list of irregularities in the attention to the animals that it harbors, this comes off of an inspection from the Federal Attorney's office of Protection to the carried out Atmosphere on Monday 20 of the present. The delegate of PROFEPA, Maritza Muñoz Vargas, said that the City council of The Ends has 15 days to correct this situation before a possible closing after 26 years of operations, the last ones under lamentable conditions.

The PROFEPA informed that in verification visit to the zoological of Santiago, she/he got up a records to notify to the City council of The Ends the procedure beginning that you/they dictate a series of having measured correctivas of security of urgent application, before the bad conditions in that you/they live and its 48 inhabitants are treated, everything stops to avoid bigger deterioration there in the wild life deposited. Among the one that highlights a couple of lions, a python, mapaches, vixens and exotic birds.

"The listing of corrections refers to the feeding, medical attention, of the spaces of confinamiento of the animals, of the storage of the foods, of bioseguridad and facilities characteristic of the place to which the City council should give execution immediate otorgándosele a term of fifteen skilled days to correct them, term in which will be supervised by this attorney's office", the PROFEPA informed.

The visit, is the second that is carried out in that place in this year, in the first one they were the same irregularities and the difference from that time to the date, it is that several copies of different species have already died, among them a puma, before a bear.

The inspection to this zoological one been founded in the 83, it was headed by the vicarial Maritza Muñoz Vargas, the subdelegate of Natural Resources, Antonio Díaz Rondero and inspectors, all corroborated the remarkable detriment of the physical spaces of the animals (cages), of the feeding, feeding storage and in yes of the attention of the species.

It is necessary to point out that the state of Santiago's animals of the Zoological one is in temporary deposit and they are species of the nation until as long as the City council demonstrates the legal origin of the same ones. On the other hand it is necessary to point out that a great percentage of the animals was given in deposit by the same attorney's office, derived of preventive detentions.

The responsible for the place, Juan Carlos González Magallón, informed however of a next change in the administration of the zoological one that is administered by a civil patronage until the moment, the City council of The Ends it is the responsible one direct to give answer to the administrative procedure.

The Federal Attorney's office of Protection to the Atmosphere looks for to safeguard the wild life in the place like of the same facilities, and on the other hand so that it recovers its good conditions and continue representing an attractiveness for the community, that which will depend on the municipal government's answer.

woody with a view - 7-24-2009 at 09:57 AM

keeping animals outside of their natural open habitat is cruel, although the lack of predators is probably a good thing if you're on display.

Osprey - 7-24-2009 at 10:00 AM

Can't get around it. The desert is a hard place in which to keep animals. On the other hand there are hundreds of zoos doing a good job of it in hot or temporate zones all over the planet. Who will argue that improvements to the zoo are unwanted? Would you also argue that the animals will be better off after the zoo closes? Can't because you do not know their fate. How about the kids of this part of Mexico? What will they lose if the free zoo (in whatever humane condition) opens again but prices them out or does not ever open again? The first person who posts "Close all the zoos" better have a good idea about what to do next.

jahImpala3 - 7-24-2009 at 10:55 AM

Many good memories visiting this zoo and the town of Santiago. I agree that the conditions the animals were kept in were not the best. Hopefully they will find a good solution for everyone (especially the animals).

vandy - 7-24-2009 at 02:14 PM

I mentioned a few years back that the best solution to the Santiago Zoo's problems, particularly involving the lion, tiger and bear
was to let the beasts free.
There are plenty of gringos, Mexicans, cows, burros, etc to keep them happy and healthy.

I should have let them loose years ago

Where Do I Start??

jeans - 7-25-2009 at 04:31 PM

For those of you who know my LONG history with trying to help this Zoo, let me give you a little more information that I have recieved in recent weeks. I started a blog that I maintained for almost a year, that tells of how I got involved in 2001, and of the vets we brought in from Mexico City to operate on the Lion. http://santiagozoo.blogspot.com

I stopped (gave up?) almost two years ago when the zoo was being "infiltrated" by a person known to traffic in animals. I talk about this person in the blog.

The zoo's owner, the "Municipality" was not agreeable to any of the positive solutions being brought to the table by honest & well-meaning people. Mainly Oscar Daccarett who paid for the vets to come out and Dr. Jorge Bravo. they have been the animal's best friends. And they returned our phone calls!

Here is a video shot by GringoGazette TV (and not to stray, but for those of you who remember Carrie Duncan, check out her welcome video on the home page...what's with the guy in the background?? :lol:

)

http://www.gringogazette.tv/2009/06/06/our-local-zoo-under-fire/ In the video you will see Dr. Jorge Bravo, who I met on a trip down there and Oscar. Both have worked hard against impossible odds to do right by the animals. Since that video was shot, the tiger has died, and someone left an alligator in a cage on the zoo's front steps.

Lastly...here is an article that the GG ran a few issues back.

Santiago Zoo Needs Help

Businessman says improve it, or close it, for the sake of the animals

BY SUSY BUCHANAN

If you have driven to La Paz from Los Cabos the long way, following the highway past the airport and through the mountains, you may have noticed an elephant highway sign about 40 minutes outside of San Jose with an arrow pointing to the small agricultural town of Santiago. Follow the signs through town, past the estuary, school and groves of mango trees and you'll find the Santiago Zoo.

There is no elephant here, thankfully, but there are over 120 animals big and small huddled in a series of cramped cages. Local businessman, state fishing commissioner, and philanthropist Oscar Daccarett calls the place “one of Mexico's biggest shames.”

The zoo opened in 1983. There are no guides available and very little signage explaining which animals are which and what are some of their characteristics. The cages are small, the attention to animals insufficient, and up until recently medical care was virtually non-existent. This is a zoo that has been neglected and allowed to deteriorate to a point bordering on abuse in certain cases. Yet it is also a place with marvelous potential – in the right hands.

The zoo features peac-cks, an eagle, ducks, rabbits, chickens, macaws, emus, ostriches, and Rocky raccoons. The biggest draws – and the poorest attended – are the larger animals, including a skittish young lioness, a wheezing Bengal tiger with kidney problems, an aging lion in need of some dental care, and a puma who is at the moment recovering from emergency surgery for a wound left untreated for two weeks. It had festered to the point it had maggots in it when a veterinarian was finally called. The puma nearly died. [has died]

Daccarett and the non-profit association he has formed to help the zoo, Patronato del Zoologico de Santiago, have offered to take it off the municipality's hands. Local officials were still mulling over his offer at press time, but Daccarett's devotion to animals is unwavering. If the municipality won't allow him, or someone else, to take it over and begin making a series of long overdue improvements, the zoo should be closed, he argues, and the animals sent to other zoos where they will be treated with the care they deserve.

Daccarett has even brought in an internationally renown wildlife biologist, Romain Hurt, who has been volunteering several hours at the zoo each day spending time with the animals and guiding their medical treatment in conjunction with local veterinarian Jorge Bravo.

Hurt, from Switzerland, is a dynamic young man with an affinity for animal-human contact and interaction. He had his own show on the Discovery Channel, “The Romain Hurt Experience,” in 2001, and he's got the scars to prove it, including a still-visible imprint of orca teeth on his left arm. Hurt says the show was hands-on wildlife, but with more of a science focus than, say, the Crocodile Hunter.

Hurt has been in Mexico for eight years, and is fully qualified, if not overqualified, to head operations at the Santiago Zoo should Daccarett's foundation be permitted to run the place.

And they have big plans. Daccarett's a marketing whiz with a number of important contacts in the business and political world. He doesn't see putting his own money into the project, although at the moment he is helping Hurt with gas money and paying for the animals' costly medications and medical interventions. Rather, Daccarett imagines reaching out to the business community and convincing businesses to sponsor an animal, donating funds to improve enclosures and maintain the animal year-round.

They would like to see cages improved from what they are now, basically jail cells with cement floors, to include trunks for the kitties to climb on, enclosures with different levels, and a pool for the tiger to bathe in during the hot summer months. They want to make the zoo interactive and incorporate a petting zoo with local farm animals like lambs, goats and deer.

None of the current employees interact with the animals, Hurt says, and he would like to change that. Right now their food – often chickens, or ducks from the duck pond – is cut up and unceremoniously dumped on the floor. Big cats need more stimuli than that when it comes to food they would stalk in nature, and Hurt would like to see it wrapped up in leaves or stashed in a tree trunk so the animals would at least have to do something to be fed. “It is a question of stimulating the animal,” he says. “These animals get zero exercise.” Employees come to work, clean up, feed them and go home, most are out of there by noon.

He also points out a significant safety risk for both humans and animals. 80 percent of the cages are accessible to the public, meaning a curious (read: stupid) zoo-goer could easily stick his or her hands between the bars of the lion's cage and loose them. Yes, there is a one-armed, unarmed security guard on duty, but he passes his time in the back of the zoo under a shade tree fanning himself rather than patrolling the grounds and making sure the animals aren't taunted. “You wouldn't believe how many rocks we find inside the cages each week,” says Hurt.

The staff isn't malicious, he says, just ignorant and indifferent. He recounts an incident where five baby raccoons were born, but zoo staff didn't realize it. When they opened the door and two of the pups managed to get out, again without anyone noticing, zoo staff closed the door leaving the newborns to die.

“What is a zoo?” Daccarett asks. “The people running this zoo have no idea what a zoo is. A zoo has many facets, it is not just about locking up a bunch of animals. This is not a zoo.”

Jails in Cabo are infinitely more humane than the Santiago Zoo, he points out.

He'd like to see a video room where children could learn more about the animals they are seeing in person. He wants a gift shop with tee-shirts, stuffed animals, and other souvenirs which could help support the zoo. Currently admission is free and they would like to keep it that way.

They envision a small amphitheater where trained zoo staff could do shows with the eagle or the python,and allow kids to get up close and personal with the animals. Maybe a small aquarium as well. Daccarett and Hurt are eager to get started turning the zoo into a first-rate tourist attraction, and predict the initial phase of improvements could be completed in two years. “Above all, the zoo needs to have an educational mission,” Daccarett says. “Once we get the go-ahead, it is just a question of knocking on doors.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The key words here are "If the municipality won't allow him, or someone else, to take it over and begin making a series of long overdue improvements, the zoo should be closed"

The "municipality" has missed other opportunties in the past to do the right thing...we ALMOST got the lion out a few years ago... I wish Oscar & Romain & the animals, a LOT of LUCK!

Osprey - 7-25-2009 at 06:01 PM

Jeans, now is the time for you to step up and help the animals. You and you alone worked tirelessly toward your own idea of how the zoo and the animals should be treated. Now can't you help them find safe places for them when the zoo is closed? That's what you wanted. Now step up. I'm looking for someone here to use the words Sin Motivo! Someone whose agenda was not to close the zoo but to make the zoo better. If Mexico and it's resource managers couldn't do it (as hard as you tried to make them), couldn't you at least see that at the end of the decision making process somebody would have to find homes for the animals? Do it. Find the way, the money, the motive to give them all new homes in the wild or other preserves. Google will give all the Mexican school kids all they will ever have to know about animals. Do good things can be tricky for man and beast. But of course you knew that all along.

mulegemichael - 7-25-2009 at 06:53 PM

We have stopped at this pathetic zoo dozens of times in the past decades and it has only become worse and worse in regards to the animals well being....too bad...we loved to walk through and butt heads with the billy goat tethered to the tree...an ostrich once snatched my camera out of my hand..we love santiago AND the zoo...let's make improvements!

jeans - 7-26-2009 at 12:19 AM

Osprey…We stopped our involvement when it became evident that the municipality of Los Cabos, which owns the zoo was dragging their feet in allowing Oscar and others too establish a non-profit foundation and operate as a stand-alone entity…you see…the zoo is “sin papeles’ …legally it does not exist. Without a foundation in place that would be accountable for monies raised, there was nothing we could do. I would trust Oscar. I have never met him but my partner is all this, Vicky, who speaks Spanish, had been relentless in keeping on top of them and urging them to take care of the animals.

When we were in the thick of things, Oscar was one of the first to return her calls, which shocked the daylights out of us at first…He has been a Godsend for the animals….He has paid for vets out of his own pocket. It looks like he has a super qualified, dedicated partner in Romain, maybe NOW they can get the municipality to release the deathgrip it has on the zoo.

I don’t think that the zoo has been closed already…I’m not sure of the exact date, but the municipality was given an ultimatum by the feds…so now it’s down to the wire…allow the foundation, or close the zoo and disperse the animals…Most, I fear will be euthanized or otherwise will not survive. I would be willling to re-open the talks with the Texas sanctuary that offered to take Leo three years ago. But Leo’s getting “up there” in age….at least about 15 yrs. old.

I think it would be unwise to close the zoo for two reasons: Education and the fact that wild animals are being kept illegally in private homes and many of them end up being “dumped” on the zoo. Where will they end up if the zoo is not there to take them? Just recently an alligator was left in its cage on the front steps of the zoo.

I was given a tour of the Tijuana Zoo a few years ago. The young Veterinarian, a woman named Carla said the zoo was started by necessity…wild animals were being confiscated and they needed a place to house them. I remember an albino python that was taken out of a strip bar. (maybe Fishbuck remembers seeing it) In a light moment I showed Carla a picture of Leo and she said “Oh, muy guapo”, then held it up to the lonely lioness and said “Mira!!’

I think education is crucial to the Mexican culture, otherwise there will be no improvement...the cycle of trafficking must be broken, and replaced by respect for animals, and respect for the environment.
Perhaps their time has come….

[Edited on 7-26-2009 by jeans]

Osprey - 7-26-2009 at 07:51 AM

The Bigger Picture

I’m not a zoo ologist, a scholar or lecturer but I’d like to give you my perspective on the zoo situation. It’s all about PR – Public Relations. Zoos are very careful to quickly remove from public view sick or injured animals. They put them in special infirmary units while recuperating. We don’t see them. It’s a giant problem for zoo managers because animals confined are very susceptible to disease and injury.

Zoo managers everywhere know that one reporter with an ipod can make headlines from a sick or injured animal still on display and cause irreparable damage to the whole facility. Of course little free zoos in poor countries like Mexico, Somalia, etc. don’t have the resources to whisk away an injured animal to some special animal hospital room on site, just waiting for such a need or to a special veterinarian hospital in the nearest next little village.

Enter the Santiago Zoo. Perhaps it was inevitable that the day would come when someone, probably a gringo, would walk into the zoo when the zoo housed an animal which was sick or injured. That day would surely mark the beginning of the end of the zoo no matter what the circumstances; how clean the place way, how well the animals were protected, fed and cared for, how lovingly the caregivers did the best they could with what they had. Even without the “sick/injured animal” thing a poor, free little zoo in the tropics would have little chance to be much more than a place to put animals in cages, try to keep the cages clean without getting bitten or mauled.

I submit all zoos have these problems; small, free ones are at special risk and I suppose we should all thank God the kids around here had some wonderful years there before the end came. Someone might have advised the little zoo to cover the big animal cages with bedsheets, closing the exhibits while the animals were recovering. The largest of animals are a zoo’s draw and they are very hard to keep happy and healthy while protecting the public and employees especially when they must be moved for treatment, examination and changes in their exhibit spaces.

For good or bad, not my call but some of you were the hand that held the ipod that brought the end to this little place. Would you now, if you could, go globe-hopping with your video cam and your cruise ship hearts making headlines from shots of bleeding monkeys in cages to close down all the but the largest, (and cleanest in your critical eye) zoos in the world? I say it’s too late for that. The animals you plan to rescue will surely die or be mistreated while well-intentioned missionaries lament the fact that their habitat disappeared while they were in captivity. Too late also to argue that the zoos should never have existed because the testimonials of millions of enlightened zoo visitors, young and old would overwhelm your hind-sight animal protection platform.

I thank the stars that the dolphinarium in Cabo San Lucas on a good day pulls in $80,000 U.S. dollars and you can be sure you will never have a chance at a photo-op of a sick or injured animal in that facility. Now you can see the difference: how many Mexican kids in Santiago have $160 bucks to frolic with the animals for 45 minutes.

Many people wanted to help the little zoo – make it a little bigger, open some exhibit spaces for more room for the animals, get better and reliable vet service, buy better food, etc. If it’s any consolation you would never have had the chance to build a special animal infirmary or fabricate the resources to move the largest of the animals to special hospitals like they do in St. Louis or L.A. Even if you had made all the improvements there would still be lurking out there the dreaded do-gooder and the cam-corder just waiting for a bad toothache day for the tiger.

jeans - 7-26-2009 at 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Osprey
It’s all about PR – Public Relations. Zoos are very careful to quickly remove from public view sick or injured animals. They put them in special infirmary units while recuperating.

That is assuming that the zoo governance cared. I tried the guilt-trip tactic and it initially fell on deaf ears. At this point a "dreaded do-gooder with a camcorder" will not bring any improvements to a halt...the government does not act that fast. The history of the zoo is too well documented, and if Oscar & Romain are given a chance, the zoo just might survive.

In January of 04 David Flores of the Gringo Gazette, who has always supprted efforts to clean up the zoo, reported that the zoo was being given "150 grand" (I'm assuming pesos) for zoo improvements to include larger enclosures and a small museum. Nothing was ever done. About a year later, I asked if he would do a follow-up piece..what happened to the money? It was right after David started asking questions that the municipality appointed Oscar Daccarret as the new head of the zoo, as a show that they were doing something. As far as I know, it was not an appointment Oscar sought out. Of course, they gave him nothing to work with...it was all for show. The thing is...Oscar cared and has not given up.

The influence of outsiders such as myself and the others that joined me can only go so far. The true responsibility lies with the local government to support the good people that stand up to do the right thing. Even one of the vets, who had worked for no fee to take care of the animals, at one point gave up...shrugging his shoulders at the futility of it all when there was no government backing.

This is endemic of a disempowered populace who grew up with an uncaring, ignorant, corrupt, self-serving government...at all levels. We have all seen this play out in every corner of Mexican life. They shrug..."What can we do??? Nada"

I think it would be an EXCELLENT PR opportunity for eco-conscious, corporate sponsors to fund a state-of the art educational/green zoological facility....something that is SORELY lacking on the peninsula.

If the zoo is closed, the cages will have to be dismantled or next week someone will drop off a lion cub that has gotten too big & dangerous for the back yard, and the "zoo" will continue.

David K - 11-2-2010 at 07:00 PM

How about a follow up on the zoo... Did it close, where the animals re-located to other zoos??

Osprey - 11-2-2010 at 08:07 PM

David, the zoo is alive, open and well. New rules, new enclosures, new cleaning routines. I was just there and the animals seem, to me, to be as well cared for as those in zoos around the world that have little income and scant opportunity to move sick or injured animals to vet centers like those in St. Louis or Los Angeles. It's a tiny and VERY IMPORTANT zoo for the children of Baja California.

Give us some posts about road conditions please so all the following posts about why this, why that won't again come to the PC forefront and call, once more for this, and all zoos to be closed, the animals set free to roam the highways.

Dave - 11-2-2010 at 08:48 PM

Close the zoo.

Euthanize the animals.

Bring the children to watch.

That should put them off the idea of zoos for a very long time.

mcfez - 11-2-2010 at 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Osprey
Can't get around it. The desert is a hard place in which to keep animals. On the other hand there are hundreds of zoos doing a good job of it in hot or temporate zones all over the planet. Who will argue that improvements to the zoo are unwanted? Would you also argue that the animals will be better off after the zoo closes? Can't because you do not know their fate. How about the kids of this part of Mexico? What will they lose if the free zoo (in whatever humane condition) opens again but prices them out or does not ever open again? The first person who posts "Close all the zoos" better have a good idea about what to do next.

Close em all.
Spend a week or two in jail.......7x11 suites. Tight.

Most animals do not have a companion....and die after years of solitary confinement. Cruel.

Reserves. If humans insist on viewing animals for their pleasure...reserves. Give the animals acres instead of little suites.

Oh...put clinics on the reserves to serve the sick animals. Zoo's....what a knucklehead concept unless you plan to place the Mother in law there.

[Edited on 11-3-2010 by mcfez]

Nappo - 11-2-2010 at 09:06 PM

Probably 15 years ago I visited this zoo on a 1 day trip north from SJD as my wife and I wanted to visit other places. I was saddened then by the plight of the animals and left a bunch of money in the little box in front of the entrance. There was no one in the entire area.. tons of rats eating the bear and tiger food. I left feeling helpless and just hoped that by some miracle things would turn around, but often wondered how these animals could sustain the heat of baja and knew their destiny did not look good. I haven't read all the long posts above because I have ADD and they are way too long, plus seem to veer off into other areas not directed to the original post, but I wonder what was the original purpose of the zoo and how those animals got there. Someone was in charge and had a plan....Little kids coming to see a bear and tiger in a cage about the size of a small house???? And this teaches them what??? I do appreciate the work of all concerned but seems like the dam is leaking and someone is trying to put their thumb in the hole...

Osprey - 11-3-2010 at 06:25 AM

Thanks again David. Got some terrific ideas when you reopened this old thread. Are you a troll? Wow!

BajaBlanca - 11-3-2010 at 07:34 PM

we went to santiago and i never saw the zoo ... somehow missed the signs ??

but, on a total tangent - when I was in Beijing and went to the zoo there, I was appalled at the panda exhibit. The bears were filthy and had no visible water. Extremely distressing.

I sure hope the zoo fixes it's act - it is important for kids to have a chance to see animals .... IMO.

a few years ago....

mcfez - 11-3-2010 at 11:02 PM

Los Angeles Zoo Faces Lawsuit for Elephant Abuse, Neglect

LOS ANGELES — Actor Robert Culp and another man have filed suit against the Los Angeles Zoo and the city, aiming to stop construction of a $40 million elephant exhibit and keep the zoo from having elephants on the grounds.

The suit filed Thursday also alleges mistreatment of elephants going back decades, saying that it has caused both direct and indirect damage to the animals.

Over the past 33 years, 13 of the zoo's 31 elephants have died prematurely, according to the lawsuit by Culp and real estate agent Aaron Leider.

Among the alleged instances of abuse: a 1984 incident in which an elephant was hit with a bull hook and one in 1986 in which an elephant was electrically shocked by handler.

Zoos...............should be banned

David K - 11-4-2010 at 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by BajaBlanca
we went to santiago and i never saw the zoo ... somehow missed the signs ??

but, on a total tangent - when I was in Beijing and went to the zoo there, I was appalled at the panda exhibit. The bears were filthy and had no visible water. Extremely distressing.

I sure hope the zoo fixes it's act - it is important for kids to have a chance to see animals .... IMO.

Just stay on the paved road through town... the zoo is on the south side of town... can't miss it.