Captive Tigers Languishing in Deplorable Conditions in Cancun

For the last year, Mexican and American animal advocacy organizations have been working together in an increasingly critical effort to save seven tigers from horrid captive conditions in Cancun, amid the debris of a former restaurant (where they've been held for several years). And although it looked like the groups and the government had come to agreement on a plan to rescue the animals, officials failed to follow through.

A recent news release explains,

Last Chance for Animals (LCA), The Wild Animal Sanctuary (TWAS) and Gente Por La Defensa Animal (GEPDA) have been negotiating with the Mexican government since August 2008 to rescue and relocate 7 tigers held in abhorrent conditions at Pepe's restaurant, in Cancun, Mexico.

Exotic tigers and jaguars have been displayed for years in concrete and steel cages at Pepe's, a tourist attraction in Cancun, so customers could be entertained. When Hurricane Wilma hit Cancun in 2005, Pepe's was decimated. Some of the animals escaped and others were found barely alive in unsafe jail-like cells. After the storm, Pepe returned with no money to rebuild or care for the animals. He allowed them to sit in their decaying environment, barely alive, drinking stagnant water and eating insufficient amounts of food. One tiger moves by dragging her rear legs behind her, often sitting in her own feces and urine. The declining health of the animals is compounded by obvious neglect.

The coalition of animal protection groups had finally struck a deal with the Mexican government for the animals' early-September rescue and relocation to sanctuary in Colorado when the government pulled out. After outcry from the public, the Mexican Wildlife Department "proposed moving the animals from the restaurant and transporting them to temporary holding facilities near Mexico City, where they would be kept until legal proceedings concluded." In response, the animal advocates argued that this new plan "would put the tigers at great risk of injury, illness, trauma and distress. Additionally, holding them in temporary cages for months, in multiple facilities around Mexico City while court cases drag on, would only compound their suffering."

I'm often wary of U.S. activists leading the charge in petitioning other countries and governments -- that is, about the condescending tone and implications that often go along with such campaigns. But when an activist group from the country-at-issue itself is involved, that's a different matter. I breathe more easily when we're working with -- and supporting the efforts of -- animal advocates within that country, as in this case with Gente por la Defensa Animal. So the coalition of animal groups requests that you use the contact information on this page to respectfully voice your concerns and ask the government to return to the original plan for the animals' rescue.

Read more from the news release here.

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Photo courtesy the Save the Cancun Tigers Web site