A baby elephant dubbed the real-life Dumbo has passed away after snapping his hind legs during an agonizing performance at a Thai zoo.
3-year-old Dumbo the Elephant was held captive at Phuket Zoo in Thailand where he was forced to do tricks and dance for tourists at least three times per day.
As seen on pictures taken before the giant mammal collapsed, Dumbo was visibly emaciated and exhausted.
After the animal collapsed on April 17, Dumbo’s keepers took the 3-year-old to a vet who confirmed that both of his hind legs were broken. Three days later, the unfortunate animal died.
Months ago, activists had begun campaigning for Dumbo’s release based on claims that the animal’s treatment was too cruel.
“We are devastated to announce that ‘Dumbo’ has passed away,” Moving Animals, a foundation that launched a petition demanding Dumbo’s release, wrote on Facebook after the animal’s passing.
“The campaign revealed his ‘skeletal’ body to the world, which raised concerns that he was ill. It now turns out that he had an infection in his digestive tract, and he became so weak that his back legs snapped beneath him.
“Despite this, the zoo did not realize his legs were broken for three days until the baby elephant was finally taken to an elephant hospital.
“For ‘Dumbo’ to die whilst under the so-called ‘care’ and ‘treatment’ of the zoo shows just how neglected these animals are in captivity.
“We want to thank everyone for their overwhelming support for Dumbo. We hope that Dumbo is now finding the peace that he was so cruelly denied in his lifetime and that his tragic story will urge Thai authorities to finally put an end to these outdated animal performances.”
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