The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation has ordered the management of the Samut Prakan Crocodile Farm and Zoo to give two emaciated elephants a rest from performing until their health improves.
Spokesman Sompote Maneerat said yesterday that officials had examined animals at the zoo in Muang district of Samut Prakan province on Wednesday following online complaints about undernourished animals there.
Two of the five elephants, aged 18 and 32, were underweight because they had lost some of their teeth and could not chew their food properly, according to the veterinarians.
The department recommended the zoo management use pellet and chopped feed to rehabilitate their health before resuming their shows.
The same recommendation was given for a 15-year-old horse, Mr Sompote said.
The officials found no problems with the other aspects of the zoo, but recommended the management added activities and toys to improve the life of the animals in its cages.
The department also discovered the zoo's licence had expired on April 21, 2016. The management sought renewal on April 18, 2016, and was instructed to present additional documents, but had not yet done so, Mr Sompote said.
