ENDANGERED SPECIES

Mexico Zoo Chief Slaughtered Pygmy Goats for Party Food, Authorities Say

Prosecutors say the four animals were cooked on zoo property for a Christmas event.

The former director of a zoo in Mexico has been accused of killing four of the park’s pygmy goats to be cooked and served as food at a Christmas party. “These four animals [were] slaughtered and cooked on the zoo’s premises, and were served as food at the year-end party,” said Fernando Ruiz Gutierrez, the state environment department’s director of wildlife. “This put the health of the people who ate them at risk, because these animals were not fit for human consumption.” José Rubén Nava, who was the director of the zoo in the city of Chilpancingo at the time, was replaced on Jan. 12 after a deer died in the park. On Tuesday, officials announced that an investigation found that several animals in the zoo had been allegedly sold or eaten at Nava’s direction.