Anger after bear cub tortured to death in Mexico

AFP PHOTO / FOUR PAWS

MEXICO CITY  — The torture and killing of a bear cub believed to have wandered near a Mexican town looking for water sparked a wave of indignation and a criminal investigation on Tuesday.

Photographs released by a wildlife conservationist showed the animal being dragged by a rope by residents of Castano in the northern state of Coahuila.

The abuse was watched by several police officers who appear to have done nothing to help the black bear, which is a protected species in Mexico.

One officer was even seen smiling and recording images on her mobile phone.

“This bear cub is treated worse than the cruelest criminal in Castanos, Coahuila,” conservationist Arturo Islas wrote on social media.

“Its only crime was approaching the town to look for some water,” he added.

State governor Miguel Riquelme condemned the mistreatment, calling the black bear “the living symbol of conservation in Coahuila.”

Wildlife protection authority Profepa announced that it would press charges against the perpetrators for a “crime against biodiversity.”

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