Skopje, 7 August 2024 (MIA) - Female Asian elephant Dunja was euthanized at the Skopje Zoo on Tuesday, the Zoo said in a post on Facebook. The decision, according to the Zoo, was made in line with the instructions of the Belgian “Pairi Daiza” zoo which loaned the elephant to the Skopje Zoo, alongside experts (veterinarian, ophthalmologist and a senior zookeeper) who performed medical checks on the elephant. 

“Not a single treatment or surgery was able to save her, the decision made by the owners from Belgium, from the international team of experts, was in order to prevent her from suffering. In the past year, Dunja started exhibiting symptoms of old age and fatigue, and several health issues were diagnosed which are typical for a sixty-year-old elephant. Dunja almost completely lost her sight, she had issues with her jaws and teeth, and a complex dental issue was also identified the day before. Regarding the process of autopsy and the remains, the Skopje Zoo followed the laws and rules, as well as consultations with a team from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine,” the Zoo said in the post. 

In the post, the Skopje Zoo stated that Dunja spent most of her life in a Swedish traveling circus, touring Europe. With the ban on the use of wild animals in circuses, Dunja, alongside Daela, a female African elephant who is also housed at the Skopje Zoo, was taken to the “Pairi Daiza” park in Belgium, where it was determined that due to their traumatic past, the two elephants were unable to live in a social group with other elephants, consequently, they were sent to the Skopje Zoo in 2018. 

“Since September 29, 2018, visitors to the Skopje Zoo had a chance to enjoy and get educated by their presence, but as of yesterday we only have our female African elephant Daela remaining, whose status will additionally be decided together with the European Elephant Group. Dunja, we will miss you endlessly, it was our honor to have been able to look after you in your ‘retirement days’,” the Zoo said. 

Some political parties in the country issued press releases calling for responsibility and transparency from the authorities over the death of the elephant. 

Following the death of Dunja, the Association for the Protection of Animals “Anima Mundi” voiced concern due to increasingly frequent deaths of animals at the Skopje Zoo. In a press release Wednesday, it called for an independent investigation by external experts as well as urgent closure of the Zoo since, it said, “the conditions are not in line with the principles of humane and ethical treatment of animals”. 

Photo: Skopje Zoo