THE BIG CATS OF CANCUN - MEXICO
During the
early part of 2004, the wife of lead singer ukNige visited the closed down
Pepe's Restaurant in Cancun Mexico. The visit happened by chance whilst on
holiday after spotting the signs while on a local bus. The road side
advertisements depicted an idyllic big cat refuge for big wild cats captured by
the authorities during the development of the resort over the past few years.
Being big animal lovers (they have 2 dogs, a cat, a parrot and fish) animal
experiences form a big part of their private life, so climbed off the bus and
walked for miles in search of the "sanctuary" hoping to get as near to the big
cats as the advertisements portrayed.
Eventually they found the "sanctuary"
only to find a very large closed down building obviously once a restaurant. The
building depicted Tigers, Jaguars & Lions with humans in open spaces within
the grounds and promised the "experience of a lifetime".
Spending a good 10 minutes walking up and down trying to get a feel for the place and what it once contained, they were approached by an old Mexican lady (a caretaker) who offered them the opportunity to see the big cats. The place was like Fort Knox, but once inside they were ushered through the once diners area, discovering shockingly that these numerous Lions, Tigers and Jaguars were located in 12 foot square cages in between where the dining tables had once been and more shockingly were still in the cages - 12 MONTHS after the place had been shut down by the authorities.
It was clear to see, Pepe's was a place of extreme rare animal exploitation for holiday makers to dine next to the huge dangerous animals - for the "experience of a lifetime". So shocking and sad was this experience that on their return, Treez contacted amongst others the Born Free Foundation to relate the plight of the cats and hopefully make the organization aware that help was needed. Treez spent most of the half hour visit to Pepe's talking to the cats through a haze of tears, promising to try to help them, the cats were chained by eight foot lengths to the neck, were thin, covered in their own excrement and baking in the sun (skylights over each cage). Apart from urine and excrement on the floor, the cages were empty - and had been since the place closed down. She demanded that the old lady give them water immediately who begrudgingly proceeded to hook up a hose and fill their water trays. Not stopping there, Treez demanded that the old lady hose the cats down to cool them - this again was met with reluctance and a complete lack of understanding for the cats.
What was clear from this experience is mankind's complete arrogance and lack of humanity for other living things, we call ourselves intelligent, we call ourselves compassionate and caring. For a huge part of the human race, these qualities don't exist. Ethnic cleansing of each other, genocide, race wars, bombings, beheadings, human bombs, the foolish and backwardness of religion and those that believe in the supernatural absurdness of it all through indoctrination from childhood, control, power struggles, politics, corporate greed, materialism, consumerism - all these things and more make humans think about themselves and less about others in the world we live - and the big cats of Cancun are but one casualty - one casualty Treez promised she would to try to help!
On her return she contacted amongst others, the Born Free Foundation to report the cat's plight and request that action be taken to try to help them, after various communications the following email was received on 01-09-2004 with a report on the latest developments. Below is the latest email for you to read and although the story is not yet complete, a great deal of action has taken place along the road to helping the cats. This is just one example of how taking action in the right way can focus events to make change, people working together and acting as one in the right way - for the right reasons, can make a difference.
Ref. z/mex/pep/04/3562
Dear Teresa, Re. Pepé's Restaurant
Thank you for contacting the Born Free Foundation and informing us about the obviously distressing experience visiting Pepé's Restaurant in Cancun, Mexico. Having visited the Restaurant myself, I can imagine the terrible conditions you must have seen. Thank you for sharing it with us. The Born Free Foundation has been in discussions with the authorities in Cancun for some months now.
I do apologise for the late response to your letter. The Born Free Foundation receives hundreds of reports about zoos, circuses and other forms of animal exploitation throughout the year, with the summer months being our busiest time. All reports are entered onto a database and then each report (only those with sufficient detail) is followed up with a letter to the relevant authorities.
The Born Free Foundation visited Cancun on two occasions in 2004, investigating reports from British tourists about the use of lion and tiger cubs as photographic props. There were also reports about big cats chained up in a restaurant. Since the first reports in 2000, Born Free had been bombarding the Mexican authorities with letters of concern about the abuse and exploitation of animals. It would appear that these had had the effect we had wanted to achieve - the use of lion and tiger cubs had been banned and the authorities had closed Pepe's Restaurant. However, having stopped their exploitation, their owners no longer had a use for them and as a result, many of these wild animals have ended up in some terrible housing conditions. There are currently 37 fully-grown lions, tigers and jaguars in such destitute conditions in Cancun, animals that were once used for the tourist trade.
The Born Free Foundation also visited Pepe's Restaurant and met with Pepé himself, who owns all the big cats you saw in the building as well as a number in his facility outside Cancun, on the road to the airport. The housing conditions for the majority of his animals were totally inadequate.
Born Free is currently in discussions with the authorities to set up a National Big Cat Sanctuary in Cancun. The proposal is that all the big cats identified as homeless in Cancun, will be rehoused in this facility and provided a more tolerable existence in captivity where they would receive the necessary care and attention. The National Big Cat Sanctuary has now received the endorsement of the Mexican Government and Born Free is currently seeking funding and drafting the management plan. The good news is that the Sanctuary will re-home 13 lions and 1 tiger, once used as props and 3 other lions. However, the big cats owned by Pepé cannot be included in the total. This is because Pepé owns his animals and unfortunately, has no wish to allow them to be rehoused. He is adamant that he will open a zoo in Cancun in the future and use his big cats in the zoo.
The Born Free Foundation, of course, opposes this idea and continues to plead with the authorities to confiscate these animals to ensure their proper lifetime care. First, however we need to receive full endorsement of our management proposal and to find sufficient funding for the building of the Sanctuary.
I would like to ask you for your help. Below I have enclosed the contact details of the official who is responsible for the protection of wild animals in Cancun. This official has already endorsed the project but I feel he needs to receive encouragement to follow the proposal through. If you could write a polite letter to PROFEPA and send a copy to the Mexican Embassy in London, supporting Born Frees' plans and encouraging the authorities to follow through with the proposal to create a National Big Cat Sanctuary. Describe your experience visiting Pepe's and ask the authorities to ensure these animals receive the care and attention they deserve. Of course, if you need any help in putting this letter together, Zoo Check would be glad to help. Your assistance would be most appreciated. Please send Zoo Check a copy of your letter and a copy of any response you receive for our records.
Carlos
Rafael Munoz Berzunza
Delegado de Profepa en Quintana Roo
PROFEPA
Av
Nader #8
Mza 5 Plaza Centro
Despacho 321
Cancun
MEXICO
Mexican
Embassy to the United Kingdom
42 Hertford Street
Mayfair
London W1J
7JR
Please do not hesitate to contact Zoo Check if you have any questions regarding the above, or if you have any other queries. We are here to help. We continue to discuss these issues with the authorities. I understand that you have already received information about Zoo Check and the Born Free Foundation for your interest. If have not already become a Member of Born Free, please consider doing so, we can put your support to excellent use!
Thank you
again for contacting the Born Free Foundation.
With warmest regards,
Daniel Turner BSc. (Hons) CBiol MIBiol
Zoo Check Co-ordinator Born
Free Foundation
--------------------------------------
Tel. 0044 (0)1403
240 170
Fax. 0044 (0)1403 327 838
daniel@bornfree.org.uk
www.bornfree.org.uk
A side effect of intelligence is transparency of vision, look around you, see through the charade of day to day life, of the bubble of existence you live in and the 5 mile radius that encompasses, see through your daily routine and your programmed nature of existence, think about your actions and how you can help other people and situations, you'll experience far greater life satisfaction than your materialistic desires. When you are dead, only your loved ones will miss and remember you (even then only for a generation), will you have done anything positive to justify actually existing? Even if its just writing letters or emails to the right people to take action on your behalf - you leave a legacy of change behind you.
Please take the time to write to the authorities above, even though you have not been to Pepe's or even visited Mexico, pretend you have been, pretend you have experienced the terrible existence of these rare animals. Two letters and two stamps, the more letters received by the authorities, the greater the pressure. The Cancun authorities want holidaymakers to make good reports about their resort - they don't want negative reports to affect the holiday trade, this desire to avoid negative public perception can be used to pressure them to clean up their act.
PUNK ROCK - IT'S A STATE OF MIND
More
Information Can Be Found At:
http://www.pepetiger.com/- don't be fooled by what you read or
see here.
http://www.bornfree.org.uk/zoocheck/mexico.shtml