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After allowing a lion named Casimiro—who had spent nearly three decades in captivity—to suffer an agonizingly slow and painful death, a zoo in Maturín, Venezuela, is now reportedly planning to acquire several new lions to “replace” Casimiro. This would sentence another generation of lions—smart and sensitive animals who long to be free—to the frustration, boredom, and loneliness of life in a barren concrete cell.

Well, not if María Conchita Alonso has anything to say about it. The actor and former Miss Venezuela has fired off a letter on behalf of PETA to Maturín Mayor José Vicente Maicavares, writing the following: 

“I have seen the photographs of Casimiro that were reportedly taken prior to his death. They show him wasting away in a tiny cell on a filthy concrete floor while covered with raw wounds and open sores. It devastates me to know that the beautiful country that I grew up in would allow this to happen, and I am even more alarmed by the fact that it could happen again if you don’t intervene.”

Of course, this isn’t the only zoo where animals have suffered and died because of disrespect for their nature, blatant neglect, inadequate living environments, or improper care. Please join María in objecting to the suffering that animals like Casimiro endure in captivity by refusing to set foot inside zoos and urging everyone you know to do the same. You can also write a polite letter to the mayor to encourage him to use his influence to urge the zoo to forgo any future lion displays:

       The Honorable José Vicente Maicavares|
       Mayor of Maturín
       Palacio Municipal, entre Av. Bolívar y Azcúe
       Piso 1
       Maturín, Venezuela

Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post