Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Animals Left to Rot in Armenian Zoo

 

 

Inside the world's saddest zoo: Shocking pictures show starving bears and lions who are forced to live off slaughterhouse scraps after being abandoned by Armenian oligarch

  • Lions, bears and guinea pigs display all the signs of creatures slowly being driven mad by their unnatural existence
  • Animals were bought on a whim by a billionaire Armenian oligarch to parade for his friends at jungle-themed parties
  • But they were left to rot after their owner vanished and now survive on scraps fed to them by an elderly couple

Banging their heads against the wall in despair and peering forlornly through the bars of their godforsaken cages, these are the inmates of the world's saddest zoo.
The planet's worst animal park is probably also its smallest. 
Just three lions, two bears and two guinea pigs live out their boring, hunger-filled days in tiny cages, displaying all the signs of creatures slowly being driven mad by their unnatural existence.
They are the residue of a billionaire's whim, bought as entertainment by an Armenian oligarch to underwrite his ego and parade before his friends in themed jungle parties.
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Left to rot: One of the starving bears who has been abandoned inside the world's worst zoo once owned by an Armenian oligarch who bought them as entertainment  to parade before his friends in themed jungle parties before vanishing while reportedly fleeing mobsters
Left to rot: One of the starving bears who has been abandoned inside the world's worst zoo once owned by an Armenian oligarch who bought them as entertainment to parade before his friends in themed jungle parties before vanishing while reportedly fleeing mobsters
One of the  lions bangs his head against his cage wall, displaying all the signs of a creature  being driven mad by their unnatural existence
One of the lions bangs his head against his cage wall, displaying all the signs of a creature being driven mad by their unnatural existence
Malnourished: The zoo is in the Armenian town of Gyumri – but it has been over two years since it saw a paying guest
Malnourished: The zoo is in the Armenian town of Gyumri – but it has been over two years since it saw a paying guest

But the parties, along with the cash to care for the poor beasts, vanished at the same time as their owner.

Now the animals scrape along on a starvation diet of slaughterhouse scraps and scavenged woodland plants brought to them by an elderly couple fighting hard to keep them alive.

The zoo is in the Armenian town of Gyumri – the place where the family of Armenian-American reality stars the Kardashians hails from – but it has been over two years since it saw a paying guest.

The ragged, hungry and bewildered tenants – lioness Mary, seven, and her cubs Geeta, four, and Zita, two, along with bears Masha, four, and Grisha, nine – are cared for by an elderly couple who simply stumbled upon them one day. 
Sad sight: A bear stares forlornly through the bars of its tiny cage in the desperate hope food may eventually come its way
Sad sight: A bear stares forlornly through the bars of its tiny cage in the desperate hope food may eventually come its way
Forlorn: The ragged, hungry and bewildered tenants – lioness Mary, seven, and her cubs Geeta, four, and Zita, two, along with bears Masha, four, and Grisha, nine – are cared for by an elderly couple who simply stumbled upon them one day
Forlorn: The ragged, hungry and bewildered tenants – lioness Mary, seven, and her cubs Geeta, four, and Zita, two, along with bears Masha, four, and Grisha, nine – are cared for by an elderly couple who simply stumbled upon them one day
Starving: The animals scrape along on a diet of slaughterhouse scraps brought to them by an elderly couple fighting to keep them alive
Starving: The animals scrape along on a diet of slaughterhouse scraps brought to them by an elderly couple fighting to keep them alive
In Limbo: The civic authorities refuse to take on any responsibility for the animal and the whereabouts of their former owner is unknown
In Limbo: The civic authorities refuse to take on any responsibility for the animal and the whereabouts of their former owner is unknown
Occasionally a vet may pop in to examine the animals from outside the cages. But no-one has any money to pay for a proper examination
Occasionally a vet may pop in to examine the animals from outside the cages. But no-one has any money to pay for a proper examination
Desperate for scraps: The animals are looked after by an elderly couple who barely have enough money for themselves
A British charity International Animal Rescue are asking for help to rescue them
Desperate for scraps: The animals are looked after by an elderly couple who barely have enough money for themselves
The civic authorities refuse to take on any responsibility for them and the whereabouts of their former owner is unknown. 
It is left to a dirt-poor pair of pensioners named Hovhamnes and Alvina Madoyan to care for them. 
Hovhamnes said: 'I lost my job. I had nothing, my wife and I were walking by the deserted zoo when we heard these terrible cries of animals in torment. 
'We came in to see the lioness and her cub literally frothing at the mouths from lack of water.
'My wife and I can't bear to see God's creatures in pain. We fetched water from them and then organised some meat from a local slaughterman. 
'That is how we scrape by, feeding them what we can muster. It is the same for the bears. We moved into an old shed near the lion enclosure to be near to them five months ago.'
A bear reaches out to grab a fish held by two pensioners who have taken it upon themselves to feed the starving animals
A bear reaches out to grab a fish held by two pensioners who have taken it upon themselves to feed the starving animals
'God's creatures in pain': Pensioners Hovhamnes and Alvina Madoyan try their best to care for the animals after they were abandoned
'God's creatures in pain': Pensioners Hovhamnes and Alvina Madoyan try their best to care for the animals after they were abandoned
He added: 'They are sad and lonely and, when they can be bothered, pace up and down their cages, showing the signs of being driven mad by boredom and inactivity.
'We cannot get anyone to help them. The previous owner was stuck in some kind of feud with local mobsters, the government doesn't want to get involved and it is the animals who suffer.' 
His wife Alvina went on: 'I get up every morning and go into the woods to find food for the bears, but it is never enough. 
'If I am lucky, some people donate some oats and cereal which we can make into a kind of porridge for them.
'They are deeply unhappy, spending hours swaying to and fro, to and fro, because they have been slowly driven mad by their incarceration.
'Last week, we were lucky to have been given the body of a baby foal to feed to the lions. It is not often they get a feast that big.'
Ramshackle: Pensioners Hovhamnes and Alvina Madoyan outside the zoo in the Armenian town of Gyumri
Ramshackle: Pensioners Hovhamnes and Alvina Madoyan outside the zoo in the Armenian town of Gyumri
Life in danger: There are fears that the harsh winter might prove lethal for the lion cubs at the zoo in Armenia
Life in danger: There are fears that the harsh winter might prove lethal for the lion cubs at the zoo in Armenia
Once in a while, a vet might pop in to examine the animals from outside the cages. But no-one has any money to pay for a proper examination. 
Sussex-based animal welfare group International Animal Rescue are trying to raise awareness of the zoo's plight in the hope action will be taken by the authorities in Armenia, but the group is not raising funds themselves.
The group, which has animal sanctuaries for endangered orangutans in Borneo, is concerned that a harsh winter might prove lethal for the lion cubs. 
A spokesman said: 'The fate of these animals should not be dependent on the philanthropy of an elderly couple who barely have enough for themselves.
'They endure in terrible conditions. We need to try to get enough money for them to be moved to a place where they can be better cared for.'
For more information on the rescue effort or to enquire about donating, please e-mail: ecocoalitionarmenia@gmail.com

Thursday, January 14, 2016

PETA Exposed (95% kill rate in VA)

EXPOSED! PETA Kills More Than 95 Percent Of Animals In Its Care




Original Post:  http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/blog/?p=8927


Related Links: PETAkillsanimals.com
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(People Exterminating Tiny Animals)
From Daily Caller: Documents published online this month show that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an organization known for its uncompromising animal-rights positions, killed more than 95 percent of the #pets in its care in 2011.


The documents, obtained from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, were published online by the Center for Consumer Freedom, a non-profit organization that runs online campaigns targeting groups that antagonize food producers.

Fifteen years' worth of similar records show that since 1998 PETA has killed more than 27,000 animals at its headquarters in Norfolk, VA.

In a February 16 statement, the Center said PETA killed 1,911 cats and dogs last year, finding homes for only 24 pets.

"PETA hasn't slowed down its slaughterhouse operation," said Rick Berman, CCF's executive director. "It appears PETA is more concerned with funding its media and advertising antics than finding suitable homes for these dogs and cats."

In a statement, Berman added that PETA has a $37 million dollar annual budget.

His organization runs PETAkillsAnimals.com, which reports that in 2010 a resident of Virginia called PETA and asked if there was an animal shelter at the group's headquarters. PETA responded that there was not.

http://www.petakillsanimals.com/

The Virginian, the website reports, then called his state's agriculture department. Dr. Daniel Kovich investigated, and conducted an inspection of PETA's headquarters.

"The facility does not contain sufficient animal enclosures to routinely house the number of animals annually reported as taken into custody," Kovich concluded in his report.
Kovich also determined that PETA employees kill 84 percent of the animals in their custody within 24 hours of receiving them.
"[PETA's] primary purpose," Kovich wrote, "is not to find permanent adoptive homes for animals."
PETA media liaison Jane Dollinger told The Daily Caller in an email that "most of the animals we take in are society's rejects; aggressive, on death's door, or somehow unadoptable."

Dollinger did not dispute her organization's sky-high euthanasia rate, but insisted PETA only kills dogs and cats because of "injury, illness, age, aggression, or because no good homes exist for them."
PETA's own history, however, shows that this has not always been the case.

In 2005, two PETA employees described as "adorable" and "perfect" some of the dogs and cats they killed in the back of a PETA-owned van. The two were arrested after police witnessed them tossing the animals' dead bodies into a North Carolina dumpster.

PETA had no comment when the Daily Caller asked what sort of effort it routinely makes to find adoptive homes for animals in its care.

http://dailycaller.com/2012/02/24/documents-peta-kills-more-than-95-percent-of-pets-in-its-care/