Venezuela’s economy continues to deteriorate under the rule of its socialist president Nicolas Maduro. The collapsing economy, combined with government regulations and price controls created a food shortage so severe some have taken drastic measures.
One group of desperate Venezuelans broke into a zoo and butchered a horse for meat on July 24, according to Fusion’s Manuel Rueda.
He wrote on July 27, 2016, that several people entered Caracas’ Caricuao Zoo before dawn, led the horse out of its pen and slaughtered it. Rueda said zookeepers found the horse’s remains the next day. ABC, CBS and NBC evening news programs did not report this dramatic incident between July 24 and July 31.
According to Rueda, it wasn’t not the first time animals were stolen from the zoo by starving citizens. Earlier the same month, several pigs and sheep were taken. His article noted the zoos also did not have enough food for the animals and several died due to “malnourishment.”
“Economists say that strict price controls and foreign exchange controls imposed by Venezuela’s socialist government have worsened food shortages for both humans and animals,” Rueda wrote.
But Venezuela’s ministry of labor is attempting to address its economic crises by implementing even more government regulations. Rueda reported that these new laws would “force private sector employees with experience in agriculture to leave their jobs to temporarily work at state-run farms and food-processing centers.”
Forbes contributor Tim Worstall called the situation an example of “agricultural slavery.”
Liberal news media have blamed Venezuela’s economic struggles on falling oil prices, consumerism, and the Venezuelan military, while going to great lengths to avoid suggesting the problem could be its socialist government.
Neither the Associated Press nor The New York Times has written about the forced labor decree.
