The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation has ordered the management of the Samut Prakan Crocodile Farm and Zoo to give two skinny elephants a rest from performing until their health has improved.
Spokesman Sompote Maneerat said on Friday 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 its five elephants, aged 18 and 32, were skinny because they had lost some of their teeth and could not chew their food properly. This affected their ability to absorb the nutrients.
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 skinny 15-year-old horse. It was also half-blind and was not used in any show, Mr Sompote said.
The officials found no problems with the physical aspects of the zoo, but recommended the management added activities and tools to improve the life of the animals in its cages, which include chimpanzees and tigers.
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, Mr Sompote said. It had not yet done so.
