Coyote Tied Up And Hung In Sick Ritual Finally Gets The Dignity He Deserves
Eight African lions, a mountain lion, two lynxes and a coyote are moving to their new home at The Wild Animal Sanctuary after an epic rescue from Mexico.
One of these incredibly lucky dozen, CanCan, has a story that is as heartbreaking as it is bizarre.
The 12-year-old coyote was rescued from a place where he was used for Santeria rituals. These rituals involved tying his front paws together and hanging him in the air for days - sometimes WEEKS - on end.
When found, he was unable to walk, according to The Wild Animal Sanctuary. But he has already shown improvement in his new life at the sanctuary: He can walk a few steps and stand for short periods of time.
"With lots of TLC and world-class veterinary care, CanCan will fully recover and be able to live comfortably in a large natural habitat for the rest of his life," The Wild Animal Sanctuary said.
But the cruelty CanCan endured led commenters to raise complicated questions:
One commenter wrote: "What the hell kind of ritual involves this kind of behaviour? Every day I learn of yet ANOTHER form of cruelty. Thank goodness for this saved animal, what is being done to prevent all the rest being abused? What a backwards world we live in."
Another commenter pointed out that the U.S. has rituals involving animals of its own, if seemingly less exotic: "using animals for ritual is cruel but also what sea world is doing with the killer whales, so I guess using animals to entertain is probably as bad as using it for rituals or perhaps worse..."
But everyone agreed that it was such a relief to see CanCan and the other rescued animals finally get the lives they deserve.
And those who had a hand in the rescue were grateful to be part of the beginning of beautiful new lives for these animals. "I was the forklift operator for today's rescue," wrote Matthew Dominguez. "Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of the rescue. Thank you to you and all of your crew for what you do."
The Wild Animal Sanctuary works with partners in Pachuca, Mexico, and their government officials to rescue, rehabilitate and place unwanted, mistreated captive wildlife like the recent rescued animals.