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Writing
this report is literally causing us a lot of pain and tears!
Our vacation in Zihuatanejo
has turned into a nightmare that will continue to haunt us for quite
some time. The reason for this is Rebecca Payne’s animal shelter/zoo
that we visited and which is now forcing us to submit this report.
We are a German couple living in Canada. There we run a wildlife
refuge where for many years we have been taking care of wild animals
in need. People bring us orfaned baby animals as well as injured
animals, which we then raise and/or nurture in a loving way because
in our oprinion animals too have a right to live and be loved.
This zoo in Zihuatanejo houses about 200 animals in a ~2000 sq. ft.
front garden setting. We are still shocked that anyone is capable of
keeping wild animals under the deplorable conditions we witnessed.
Many of the animals are neglected, malnourished, injured, and simply
desperate.
Click pics to enlarge
Raccoons, coatimundis, and opossums are being forced to live in
cages originally made for birds. They can hardly turn around.
According to Rebecca the cages have not been opened for six
years as she is afraid the animals would run away. The water
bowls are too small and many animals flip them over immediately
once they do get filled – maybe instinctively, maybe in protest.
Only some of the solid excrements are sporadically removed from
the cages, usually by means of a wooden stick, while the urine
is left to trickle down onto the sandy floor.
There are no sleeping boxes. Thus these nocturnal animals are
constantly exposed to bright daylight and the scorching heat
typical of the local climate.
All animals show severe signs of illness as well as disturbed
behavior. You can really see in their eyes that they are on the
verge of insanity due to their misery.
We visited the zoo on three consecutive days. Each time we
offered the animals fresh bottled water, which they hastily
downed. We will never forget the pleading and whining sounds the
animals were producing.
Rebecca owns a lot of cats and dogs, many of which are seriously
ill and inundated with parasites. Foam is dripping from their
nostrils and mouths. These cats and dogs live right there
between the cages, and the dogs’ incessant barking is causing
the wild animals additional stress.
Coatimundis are very adorable and social animals which love to
move around. Obviously, the extremely long curved claws at the
end of their slender fingers are perfect for climbing trees.
Locking these animals up in such small cages without any
climbing bars and poles and sleeping boxes amounts to torture.
In the water bowls all one usually finds is excrements and urine.
These containers are never cleaned because the cages are never
opened in the first place!
There are even four alligators being kept at that zoo. Only
their eyes indicate they are still alive. One of the alligators
is kept in a cage only as big as the animal itself. There is no
water or anything!
The animal gets neither washed nor taken care of in any other
way. It is languishing in its own excrements, without being
given fresh water on a regular basis. Having grown upwards, the
mouth of the alligator is completely deformed. No information is
available on the food supply to the animal. Like garbage the
alligator is stored away in a remote corner of the premises –
neglected and forgotten. Right next to it, two smaller
alligators are accommodated in flat, even tinier mesh cages,
lacking any water basins. What a misery. As there is no roof
above the cages, the alligators are gradually drying out, a slow
and painful death. They are already apathetic, showing hardly
any sign of life.
On those three days when we visited the zoo, we did not witness
the alligators being fed at all.
As already mentioned, the enclosures and cages are not opened
anymore, thus never cleaned, either.
There are also birds being kept at the zoo, lots of them, mostly
in narrow cages polluted to such an extent that one can hardly
see through the clogged mesh.
This bird is severely injured and covered with blood, the result
of the animal knocking its own head against the mesh out of mere
desperation.
The parrots are screaming so loud that they cause the other wild
animals enough stress to hurt themselves.
Mr. Payne is suffering from a severe illness and is hardly able
to walk anymore. In the absence of his wife Rebecca, we talked
to him. It turns out he is not even aware of what is going on in
the zoo, nor where the money needed to pay for fodder etc. is
coming from.
On this fotograph the pigeons are difficult to spot as the mesh
is so clogged with excrement.
A jaguarondi kept in a cage only 10 ft. long and 3 ft. high.
This cage is never opened and cleaned, either!
The cat is struck by panic every time one of the 15 or more
medium-sized dogs freely roaming the zoo’s premises barks at the
cage, chasing the cat inside from one end to the other. As
mentioned, the dogs are able to access any corner of the zoo’s
premises. Thus there is no way for the wild animals to withdraw
and feel safe and secure.
The same goes for the 20 or more cats and their kittens
searching the premises for left-over fodder – usually in vain.
Frequently, one can observe a cat resting on top of a bird cage
while on the ground below a dog tries to steal some of the
scarce food from the cage of a raccoon.
Watching the cruel spectacle of wild animals locked up in their
cages trying in fear of death to find a safe corner when there
simply is none, will break any sensitive person’s heart. The zoo
constitutes a gross violation of animal rights on the part of
the owners/supervisors of the animals.
For many years this raccoon has been living right next to the
alligator, i.e. the animal which out in the wilderness is one of
its predators. The constant fear has made this little fellow
lose its mind and hurt itself so violentely that it’s screaming
with pain. I had to witness all this agony for three days. I
took Rebecca by the hand, led her to the raccoon, and pleaded
her with tears in my eyes to set the animal free. All she
replied was that she knew the animals were suffering, but that
she had to ask the authorities before setting any animal free.
However, the leading US-American wildlife rehabilitator Kari
Freidig already wrote a similar report on this zoo about a year
ago, and nothing whatsoever has changed since then.
We pleaded Rebecca Payne to have the animals transferred to
another institution providing them with larger cages and medical
care. She refused, arguing the animals belonged to the
government and were registered. We also offered her to build
larger cages ourselves, she refused that, too. But she said
donations would be appreciated!
All we can do now is hope and pray that the local animal rights
organization Sociedad Protectora de Animales de Zihuatanejo will
be powerful enough to help those poor animals. We at
SOS-RACCOON.COM will do everything we can to support them.
Animals can’t speak out on their own behalf, that is why we
speak out on their behalf. Every animal under human supervision
deserves to be treated with love and respect and to lead a happy
life, just as humans do.
The animals at this zoo will never be able to survive in the
wild. What they urgently need now is medical care, considerably
larger cages/enclosures, and lots of love.
We plead and ask the Guerrero government to finally put an end
to the misery of these animals.
What was it again Pope Pius V banned in 1567?
Upset by the misery of animals, Pope Pius V banned bull fighting
and all other acts of public animal abuse in Mexico back in
1567.
That is why we are asking in the name of God for those animals
to find new homes addressing their species-specific needs. We’ll
gladly support any such rescue operations, including by means of
donations.
Yours sincerely,
Brigitte and Alois Böhmer
www.sos-raccoon.com
211 Chemin Rivest
J0T2P0 Val des Lacs
Quebec Kanada
Tel: 819 324 1051
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Aquí usted encontrará la petición | 
Hier finden sie die Petition
Here you will find the petition