Gaucho ('Huaso') finds sanctuary! 27-10-2009 |
Gaucho spent most of his life jailed in a small barren circus trailer. He underwent brutal training and was found malnourished and living in appalling conditions. His paws had been mutilated when his claws were removed. Fortunately for Gaucho, Ecopolis, an animal welfare organization in Chile, in conjunction with SAG (the Chilean Agricultural Department), came to his aid and orchestrated his confiscation from the barbaric conditions in the circus. Gaucho was housed temporarily in Buin Zoo in Chile while awaiting his relocation. After ten long months of logistical planning and paperwork and an almost 48 hour flight, Gaucho finally landed in Johannesburg early Monday morning. What was meant to be a short transit in Johannesburg turned into a bureaucratic nightmare! An incompetent official in Johannesburg decided to detain Gaucho and not allow him to continue on to Cape Town because of "missing paperwork". The official in question made his edict from his comfortable office, having not even bothered to go to the airport and investigate the so called "missing paperwork". We begged and pleaded with him to release Gaucho as all the paperwork was with the lion, to no avail. After a day of emails, faxes and phone calls, the official finally realized that he was in possession of the correct paperwork and Gaucho was released after a completely unnecessary 14 hour delay. Gaucho finally arrived at the sanctuary in the early hours of Tuesday morning on the 27th October, tired, dehydrated and stressed. Gaucho was accompanied by members of Ecopolis and government officials from Chile on his long journey. Members of the Chilean Embassy in South Africa were also on hand to meet him. Gaucho has become a celebrity in Chile and his life of suffering in a circus has highlighted the plight of circus animals throughout South America, fortunately the actions of Ecopolis and SAG have meant that there is a happy ending for Gaucho.
Gaucho is available for adoption! Please email us if you would to adopt Gaucho and contribute towards his lifetime care costs.
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