Socialism on display: Starving Venezuelans resort to eating zoo animals

Monday, August 22, 2016 by: Daniel Barker
Tags: failed socialism, starvation, Venezuela

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(NaturalNews) In a tragic reflection of the sorry state of Venezuela's economy under the so-called "leadership" of socialist president Nicolas Maduro, citizens have resorted to killing and eating rare animals from the Caricuao Zoo in the capital city of Caracas.

Desperate and hungry residents of the city have reportedly slaughtered a rare black stallion that was kept at the zoo, leaving behind only the ribs and head of the unfortunate animal. Other animals residing at the zoo have also been stolen and killed for food, including sheep and pigs.

Some zoo animals are being eaten; others are starving

The zoo animals that haven't yet been eaten by starving Venezuelans aren't faring much better – many have already died of starvation, while others are on the verge.

From The Telegraph:

"Earlier this month Marlene Sifontes, a union leader for employees of state parks agency Inparques, which oversees zoos, said that 50 animals in the zoo had starved to death over the last six months.

"She said the animals included Vietnamese pigs, tapirs, rabbits and birds - some of which had not eaten for two weeks."

The staff at the zoo are doing their best to prevent further starvation deaths among the animals, but the situation is dire; lions and tigers are being fed fruits and vegetables to supplement their drastically reduced meat diets, and an elephant is receiving tropical fruit instead of its normal diet of hay.

Outside Caracas, other zoos and wildlife preservation parks are experiencing similar problems.

The human population of Venezuela is also suffering greatly, as evidenced by the theft of zoo animals and the recent wave of citizens pouring into Colombia to buy food and other essentials.

Five pedestrian border crossings between Venezuela and Colombia were opened in an effort to provide relief to desperate Venezuelans, who stood in long queues to make the trip into the neighboring country to purchase whatever they could afford.

Inside Venezuela, people are also forced to stand in long lines to buy scarce and overpriced commodities such as meat and rice.

Food riots and looting have become common in Venezuela, and many citizens have been reduced to killing cats, dogs and pigeons to stave off starvation.

During a recent visit to Venezuela, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told journalists that the country is in a deep crisis.

"Basic goods and services such as food, water, health care and clothes aren't available," he said.

Venezuelan authorities deny there is a crisis

Venezuelan officials deny that such a crisis exists. Rafael Ramirez, Venezuela's ambassador to the UN, criticized the Secretary-General's remarks, calling them "strange" and questioning where he got his information.

Many Americans would like to believe that this could never happen at home, but economic experts warn that the United States may be headed for a similar crisis.

From The Economic Collapse Blog:

"We have artificially pumped up our standard of living by adding more than 1.1 trillion dollars a year to the national debt since Barack Obama has been in the White House, and one recent poll discovered that 62 percent of all Americans have less than $1,000 saved up."

If and when the SHTF in the United States, economically speaking – and many believe that it is just a matter of time – the situation could quickly become even more serious than what Venezuela is experiencing right now.

That's why it is more crucial than ever for Americans to begin taking steps towards self-sufficiency and preparing for a possible economic collapse on a scale never seen before – in this country or anywhere else.

The stockpiling of food, water, ammunition and other essentials is a wise idea for anyone who wishes to survive intact. Growing your own food and prepping for such a crisis may mean the difference between life and death for yourself and your loved ones.

As the saying goes: "Forewarned is forearmed."

Sources:

Telegraph.co.uk

TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com

Independent.co.uk