377 unauthorised animals seized from Mexican zoos

Mexico City, July 29 (IANS/EFE) Mexico's Profepa environmental protection agency has seized 377 wild animals from zoos that violated regulations.

Inspectors found that the El Serengueti and El Jocoque zoo in the central town of San Jose de Gracia did not have an updated inventory of its animals and that the facility was keeping species "that have not been authorised within the management plan", Profepa said in a statement.

The zoo was late in submitting a required annual report and failed to present documentation establishing the legal provenance of 111 wild animals.

A June 15-21 inspection led to the seizure of five spotted hyenas, four brown hyenas, four cheetahs, two caracals, two Iberian lynxes, 34 antelopes, and 11 African land turtles.

The seizure included six zebras, four African buffaloes, one giraffe, two dromedaries, three wildebeests, two Barbary sheep, seven wild African dogs, five crowned cranes, two ostriches, two African parakeets, three Egyptian geese, eight Guinea hens, two lemurs and two African porcupines.

Profepa agents in the southern state of Guerrero visited Zoochilpan in Chilpancingo, the state capital, to verify that the handling of wild animals was in accordance with the General Wildlife Act.

The inspection led to the confiscation of 266 animals, including Bengal tigers, jaguars, Nile hippopotamus, giraffe and American bison.

--IANS/EFE

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