**Pandemic-Weary Animal Welfare Advocates Abuse in Thailand’s Zoos**
**BANGKOK, Thailand** – A coalition of animal welfare groups has accused Thailand’s zoos of abusing animals and failing to provide adequate care, as the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on their finances and resources.
The groups, including the World Animal Protection and the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, said in a joint statement on Tuesday that they had documented dozens of cases of animal abuse and neglect at zoos across the country.
They said that animals were being kept in cramped and unsanitary conditions, denied adequate food and water, and subjected to physical and psychological abuse.
.
