Violence in Mexico has become so bad that even the animals can’t take it anymore.
About 700 animals had to be removed from the Ostok Sanctuary near the city of Culiacán — the capital of the state of Sinaloa. In recent years, the state has more or less been taken over by Cártel de Sinaloa, a transnational organization that the State Department calls one of the “world’s most powerful drug cartels and is one of the largest producers and traffickers of fentanyl and other illicit drugs to the United States.” Earlier this year, the Donald Trump administration designated it as a terrorist organization.
Last year, one of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán’s sons, who is involved with one faction, kidnapped the leader of a rival faction of Cártel de Sinaloa and flew him to the United States via private plane, handing him over to authorities. Since then, what can only be described as a war has broken out between the two factions. At least 1,200 people in the area have died, and another 1,400 are missing. And those are just the official numbers.
Ernesto Zazueta, who manages the sanctuary and is the president of AZCARM, the Mexican association of zoos and aquariums, said that things have gotten so bad in the area that he and his team can no longer safely and efficiently care for the animals that live there.
“We’ve never seen violence this extreme. We’re worried for the animals that come here to have a better future,” Zazueta said.
He’s also worried for his own life and the lives of his staff. One of those staff members, Diego Garcia, said that he receives anonymous death threats regularly. “There’s no safe place left in this city these days,” he added.
The animal sanctuary itself is also targeted. It often receives threats that someone will burn it to the ground and kill all of the animals if they don’t make payments to the person or group issuing the threats. They’ve also had equipment and vehicles stolen.
There have been times when they’ve been cut off from receiving food and other necessities required to take care of the animals due to violence or roadblocks, leading to various health issues and even the death of two large cats. Many have gone days without eating. Some of the animals are so stressed out from the sounds of gunfire and helicopters that they’re losing their fur.
Zazueta and his team finally decided that enough was enough in March when an elephant was injured, but no veterinarians would make the trip to Culiacán to help. These vets feared for their own safety.
So now, the team is moving every single one of the animals to a businessman’s ranch, Bioparque El Encanto, about 140 miles away in the coastal resort town of Mazatlán. Many of the animals had to be sedated and caged for the trip. A crane was brought in to move the elephants. Sanctuary employees comforted the animals with snacks and soothing voices.
The caravan was apparently quite a sight. White flags — a sign of peace — decorated the tops of the cages, trailers, and vehicles. Meanwhile, men dressed in black and wearing ski masks watched from their motorcycles as it left town.
“This caravan of animals is a kind of 21st-century Noah’s Ark. But this time, the animals aren’t fleeing a flood, but rather insecurity, fear and anxiety,” Zazueta said. Here’s a video of the sanctuary staff preparing the animals for the trip (it’s in Spanish but still interesting to watch if you don’t speak the language).
The group of animals includes monkeys, elephants, lions, tigers, jaguars, crocodiles, and exotic birds. among others. Many of the animals actually came from properties owned by cartel members. Mexican authorities found numerous big cats during raids or tied up in abandoned homes. It’s believed that these cartels would sometimes feed people to the cats as punishment.
While the team is happy to start fresh in a new location, they’re also wary. Garcia said violence is spreading quickly through Mexico. Zazueta blames the government for allowing it to continue and doing nothing.
Recommended for VIPs: Maybe Skip the Livestreaming in Mexico
According to an Instagram post, the new space “was born as a space for healing, respect, and connection with nature. It’s not just another zoo; it’s a regenerative home where each species receives medical, emotional, and specialized care.” With the support of the likes of César Millán and other notable people from the animal world, it will open its doors to the public in August and become a “unique educational, ecological, and tourist experience in Mexico.”
I hope for these guys’ and the animals’ sake that their new place is successful. I did a little extra research while writing this, and Zazueta is quite a respectable guy. he puts a lot of his own resources into saving animals from abusive situations and educating the public on that and related topics. It’s a shame that so much of his hard work was nearly ruined due to cartel violence.
Anyway, I decided to write about this because I thought it was an interesting story, but I also wanted to highlight again just how violent our neighbors to the south have become. Last week, I did that by writing about two separate women who were killed — likely by cartels — during livestreams within hours of each other. I have another story planned for the near future that puts numbers to this uptick in Mexican violence over the last decade or so.
If this doesn’t make the case for border security, I’m not sure what does. We do not want this in our country any more than it already is.
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