Lion Saved from Taxidermist Becomes a Star at Mexico City Zoo croatiantimes.com
go to original September 5, 2014

Lion saved from stuffing (europics.at)

A lion rescued from a cruel taxidermist who was waiting for him to die of starvation and thirst so that he could stuff the animal has become a star attraction at a local zoo.

Ever since news of his ordeal were published people have been flocking to the San Juan de Aragon Zoo in Mexico City where the lion is being looked after and has plenty of room in an enclosure of his own.

Mexican Hector Landa Velazquez has refused to say where he managed to buy the lion, or the two crocodiles and a spider monkey that he also had in his tiny van when he was stopped in the Mexican capital by police during a routine roadside check.

But he admitted that he was waiting for the animals to die of dehydration, saying that killing them with a gun or sharp instrument would have made a mess of the skin, and even poisoning was not good for a lion as the fur tended to fall out after death. As a result he decided to wait for it to die from starvation and dehydration, but was caught by taking the nearly dead animals to his practice.

Keepers said that all of the animals but especially the lion had been traumatised by their experiences but that the lion had quickly made itself at home in its spacious new enclosure and was recovering fast on a diet of fresh meat every day.

Mexico City's chief crime prevention officer Leticia Varela, 45, explained: "The vehicle was stopped and when police officers searched the van, they found two crocodiles each about 40 inches long, a spider monkey, a living male lion and another dead lion which had been stuffed.

"The lion and monkey were in a complete state of malnutrition, beaten, and in a very bad state of health."

Prosecutors say Velazquez is facing 25 years in jail for illegal wildlife trafficking and animal cruelty.

See the original at croatiantimes.com

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!