Ecuador's Drug Lords Are Building "Narco-Zoos" as Status Symbols. The Animals Are Paying the Price.

CBS News ^

[nickcarraway]

A pair of jaguars discovered in a cage on a ranch exposed a cruel new fashion among Ecuador's drug lords. In the style of Colombian cocaine baron Pablo Escobar, they are erecting private, illegal zoos as a status symbol.

In May, police came upon the sorry sight of the two endangered felines perched on a log surrounded by iron bars. They were held on a property owned by Wilder Sanchez Farfan — alias "Gato" (The Cat) — a suspected drug lord with ties to Mexico's Jalisco New Generation cartel and wanted in the United States.

Farfan was arrested in Colombia in February, and the U.S. Treasury Department called him "one of the most significant drug traffickers in the world." Along with the jaguars, police have also found parrots, parakeets and other exotic birds Farfan is believed to have imported from China and South Korea.

[nickcarraway]

[dfwgator]

“Opulence, I has it!”

[ClearCase_guy]

The jaguars and birds found at Farfan's property were taken to rehabilitation centers to receive medical and other attention.

But in most cases, a return to their natural habitat has been impossible.

To sum up: We found animals and we euthanized them. Because we are the Good Guys.

[Kartographer]

They better hope the hippos don’t get loose!

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pablo-escobar-cocaine-hippos-colombia-wants-to-transfer-dozens-populaion-control/#:~:text=Scientists%20warn%20the%20hippos%20do%20not%20have%20a,Colombia%27s%20government%20declared%20them%20a%20toxic%20invasive%20species.