Euthanise ailing lion
Suggests expert
The Comilla zoo authorities should euthanase Juboraj the lion to end his sufferings from old age complications, eminent wildlife conservationist Reza Khan said.
After a picture of the 17-year-old lion posted on social media went viral recently, many users accused the zoo keepers of starving him and being irresponsible.
Veterinarians, called in by the zoo authorities after the backlash, concluded that Juboraj's health had deteriorated beyond recovery.
“Without any delay the poor creature must be put to sleep. I think, the authorities should show mercy by putting him to sleep,” Reza Khan,former head of Dubai Zoo, said.
Born in 2000, Juboraj was brought to Comilla Zoo when he was four. He has lived in the enclosure without any company since. In recent months, his health rapidly deteriorated and he lost his appetite.
“He has stopped eating beef. He hardly eats a chicken a day now," Sanjoy Kumar Bhowmic, cheif executive of Comilla District Council, said.
Comilla zoo authorities, meanwhile, covered his enclosure with jute hessians to hide him from visitors.
Reza Khan said it was a common practice and almost like an unwritten law that an old animal suffering of old age complications, refusing to eat, and not responding to medication in captivity, must be put to sleep to relieve the agony.
The conservationist in an email to The Daily Star said exhibiting an ailing animal was tantamount to extreme cruelty.
The associations of zoos and aquaria in Europe and Africa generally consider routine euthanasia a viable management and breeding strategy.
The Central Zoo Authority of India also recommends zoo keepers to euthanase when an animal is in such an agony that it is cruel not to do that.
Besides Juboraj, there are two deer, nine monkeys, and a python in Comilla Zoo. Officials say, the zoo premises get flooded in monsoon.