Human vs. Animal war set to begin

Pecos mulls zoo options
BY GEOFF FOLSOM

Vanessa Enriquez said something needs to happen with the Maxey Park Zoo.

"I think they should close it down," the Pecos resident said as she ate a picnic lunch with her family recently in the park. "Nobody really pays attention to (the animals), and their cages are so small."

The animals are placed inside two rows of chain link fence, one of which has barbed wire along the top. Some of the signs identifying the animals are misspelled like "Buffalos" and "Capuchn Monkeys" - and only one of the primates remains in the zoo.

"Like my husband says, the little monkey is out there all alone," Enriquez said. "It needs another companion. It's always inside. It has no life."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is requiring the zoo to meet certain standards in order to get proper licensing, Pecos City Manager Joseph Torres said. On May 9, voters will have a chance to decide if they want to put additional funding into the zoo or shutter the gates on the facility.

"Some of the citizens say close it down, some say keep it open," Torres said. "If it stays open, we'll probably add some additional infrastructure."


I've got an idea. The impending human vs. animal war is set to begin at any moment. I say release the animals into West Texas and let us go toe to toe with them. I have been against the wars in the Middle East but the war against animals is necessary. They're on our turf!

So let's fight. No guns though. This has to be noble warfare. I'm going to use my Maglite as my weapon.