Autralian man has been arrested after breaking into a Thai zoo in to feed its seemingly abandoned animals.
Minh Nguyen from Australia and three other companions broke into the zoo to feed tigers, elephants and other animals, believing they had been left to die when the zoo closed due to the ongoing pandemic.
When the group returned the next day with food for the animals, they saw there were zookeepers who assured them they hadn’t been abandoned, but said they couldn’t afford to feed them.
The tiger lover then set up a GoFundMe and raised more than $45,000 to help feed the animals. However, the zoo’s owner came across online videos of Minh helping the animals and reported it to local police.
Phuket Police then came for Minh and arrested him for trespassing and computer crimes, after the zoo owner insisted that the animals were being adequately cared for. The other people involved in feeding the animals were also arrested.
Following Minh’s first trip to the zoo, he had noticed more effort had been made by the zoo’s staff and owners.
Speaking to a Daily Mail report, Minh said that the zoo cages were cleaned up and the tigers look happier and are being fed.
Minh’s laywer labelled the whole thing a ‘misunderstanding’, and insisted the zoo owner’s mother had granted him access to the zoo.
“When we did get charged and arrested, the older brother and mother (of the owner) came down to be witnesses for us. There is a bit of a divide among the shareholders as to how the zoo should run,” he said.
“I’ll be going to court on May 25. That’s when I will know if they want to make a case of it or not, but I doubt they will… I just want to help the animals.”
In the meantime, we hope the animals at the zoo are being cared for and haven’t been abandoned as initially suspected.