Puerto Rico's Last Remaining Zoo Closes Its Doors After Years of Complaints
Animal activists are celebrating.
Puerto Rico’s government officially announced the closure of the island’s last remaining zoo on Feb. 27 following years of complaints and animal activists are celebrating. The Dr. Juan A. Rivero Zoo closing is due to the suspected mistreatment of animals and lack of resources. Federal authorities will be investigating further.
The 45-acre zoo homed over 300 animals. Now, those animals will be evaluated by veterinarians before heading off to sanctuaries to live out the rest of their days. For more information, check out this newscast from CBS Puerto Rico. We bet you’ll be celebrating this closure as well!
Wow, this has been a long time coming. The zoo has been closed since 2017 when hurricanes Irma and Maria barreled right through the island. Then, in 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture canceled the zoo’s license due to violations that occurred in previous years. The violations and concerns kept piling up year after year and now people can breathe a breath of fresh air knowing these animals are getting the proper care they need.
“Animal welfare comes first,” said Gov. Pedro Pierluisi. “Questions have been raised for a long time.” Animal welfare should always come first. We’re so glad steps in the right direction are finally happening.
“We are not letting our guard down,” activist Christian Ríos said in an ABC News report. “We are sorry that all those complaints have taken a long time to be heard.” It’s better late than never to get help for those animals. We’re beyond glad they’ll be moving to sanctuaries.
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