Zoo director eats up rare goats for dinner

The former head of Zoochilpan Zoo in Mexico’s Guerrero state, José Rubén Nava Noriega, has been accused of having some of the zoo’s animals killed for meat, among other incidents.

The Director of Wildlife for the Guerrero Environment Department, Fernando Ruiz, held a press conference on Tuesday and alleged that the records of the Zoochilpan Zoo in Chilpancingo showed a misrepresentation of the number of pygmy goats last summer.

There were “five females and five males of which the former director had four male specimens for use at the New Year’s Eve dinner,” Ruiz alleged, adding, “That is to say, those four specimens were sacrificed and cooked in the facilities of the same zoo and were used as food in the year-end celebration.”

Ruiz added that the health of those who ate the meal was put at risk because the animals were “not suitable for human consumption.”

The Environment Department released a statement that outlined other administrative issues at the zoo. According to the statement, in a separate instance, Nava exchanged four cattle for park supplies and materials, but the department was not informed about the cattle delivery in accordance with protocol and the materials and tools were missing from the zoo’s premises.

Nava rejected all the allegations as false and claimed there is a “dirty war” for control of the zoo’s budget. He stated that all the actions carried out during his time as the head of the zoo were lawful.