President Nicolas Maduro blames food shortages on opposition protests that have blocked streets and highways and a broader “economic war” led by adversaries with the help of Washington. But zoo head Leonardo Nunez said a wave of thefts that in recent weeks had affected 10 species including a buffalo, which he said was cut into pieces, was orchestrated by “drug dealers” seeking to sell the animals. The animals weren’t stolen to be eaten,” Nunez said in an interview on Wednesday. Shortages have also left zoos without sufficient food to feed animals, with some 50 animals starving to death last year at a Caracas zoos, according to a union leader. The government denied the animals had starved, insisting they had been treated “like family.”

Source: The Guardian August 17, 2017 01:18 UTC