Dozens of exotic animals have been stolen from a Florida wildlife sanctuary, authorities say.
Seven lemurs, five marmosets, four monkeys, seven birds and 13 tortoises were taken from We Care Wildlife Sanctuary in Southwest Miami between Saturday night and Sunday morning, WSVN reports.
‘They unscrewed [a] bolt off of the actual mechanism that holds the fence together, ’cause they couldn’t cut the lock, I guess,’ said a volunteer, ‘and then they cut all this out, and then they just pushed the fence out.’
Volunteer Cindy Robert said some of the animals are in need of medication and may die if they don’t receive it. Moreover, many of the animals that were taken had just moved to the sanctuary and the stress of being snatched could also endanger their lives.
She said someone made the false claim in a post on Craigslist that the sanctuary was going out of business and giving up its exotic animals. The ad told people to ‘just go around back and take what you want.’
According to WSVN, the craigslist add said: ‘Free exotic animals. I’m not longer staying in business I can’t take care of these animals. I have lemurs, marmosets, tortoise, African grays, macaws, horses ect [sic].
‘First come first serve. We’re a sanctuary going out of business. If I’m not there just go around back and take what you want.’
Robert is asking people to bring the animals back so they can be safe and taken care of properly.
The We Care Sanctuary takes in rare birds, farm animals, and other exotic species of wildlife that need a home. They specialize in animals with special needs and behavioral or physical challenges.
Authorities say the owner of the sanctuary recently moved and did not have surveillance cameras installed.
Miami Dade Police are investigating the incident.
You can call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS if you have any information about the robbery.