Exotic animals disappear from Florida wildlife sanctuary after fake ad

[turbinetree]

The advertisement on Craigslist was specific: “Free exotic animals. We’re a sanctuary going out of business. Go around back and help yourself.”

Early on Sunday morning, somebody did just that, driving a truck up to the rear gate of the We Care Wildlife Sanctuary in Miami and loading up seven ring-tailed lemurs, five marmosets, four monkeys, seven birds and 13 tortoises.

The internet posting, however, was a fake. Now the sanctuary owners want their animals back, fearing they could die in days without the specialist care they need.

“We’ve been violated,” a sanctuary volunteer, Cindy Robert, said of the disappearance of the valuable animals, which is being treated by the Miami-Dade police department as a theft.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/mar/05/exotic-animals-alleged-theft-miami-craigslist

This should land right on Craiglist lap of total incompetence to verify, if the zoo was doing this..................

[Rhiannon12866]

1. How horrible!

I'm hoping that there's a follow up report.

[MrsMatt]

2. Follow up (at link) shows it's a hoax. n/t

[Rhiannon12866]

3. Thanks so much!

I thought that might have been the case, but it was confusing.

[oberliner]

4. Monkey business: Florida wildlife sanctuary animal 'theft' declared hoax

The mysterious disappearance of dozens of exotic animals from a Florida wildlife sanctuary after a fake “help yourself” advertisement appeared online has been solved, according to detectives: the alleged late-night theft was nothing more than monkey business contrived by the sanctuary’s owner.

Josue Santiago, 41, head of the We Care Wildlife Sanctuary, remained in his own cage at the Miami-Dade county jail on Wednesday, charged with the false reporting of a crime. Meanwhile, seven ring-tailed lemurs, five marmosets, three red-handed tamarins, a white-faced capuchin and assorted other “stolen” animals, including rare birds and tortoises, worth a combined $53,400, were being cared for at a refuge in North Carolina, where Santiago is alleged to have taken them before returning to Miami and staging Sunday’s break-in.

“All animals are safe and being attended to,” detective Argemis Colome told the Guardian in a statement. “Detectives determined that Santiago filed a false police report and provided false information during the course of their investigation.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/mar/07/monkey-business-florida-wildlife-sanctuary-animal-theft-declared-hoax

People are strange.