The cause of death of Boy the elephant, an animal kept at Kyiv Zoo, will be studied by two commissions of experts formed by Kyiv City State Administration.
"Two commissions will be set up at Kyiv City State Administration – the first will consist of experts who will directly study the cause of the elephant’s death. Permission has been received to include in the commission two experts from Mykolaiv Zoo, the other two from Kharkiv Zoo, and one expert will come from Moscow. The second commission will be created after the [May 9] holidays, and it will include representatives of public organizations and zoo experts, including Yalta Zoo Director Oleh Zubkov," Head of the Council of Experts Public Organization Andriy Kapustin said at a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine news agency on Thursday.
He also said that his organization and other animal rights groups had proposed that Deputy Head of Kyiv City State Administration Ihor Dobrutsky suspend Kyiv Zoo Director Svitlana Berzina from her post until the official investigation is conducted, and expel "all those linked to the zoo and Berzina" from the existing commission. In addition, animal rights groups proposed inviting a foreign expert to head the Kyiv Zoo for at least a year, "so as to avoid clan fights," and create a board of trustees.
Kapustin said that according to Dobrutsky, the official "submitted a report to [Kyiv Mayor Leonid] Chernovetsky proposing that Berzina be dismissed from her post in order to conduct an official investigation."
He also emphasized that a pathological and morphological examination of the elephant’s body had been conducted "in violation of rules and procedures" and with the participation of only veterinary experts from Kyiv Zoo.
President of the Kyiv Society for the Protection of Animals "SOS", Tamara Tarnawska, in turn, announced the reaction of international organizations.
In particular, she said that experts from British and German zoos had been surprised by Berzina’s statements made two hours after the elephant’s death that the animal had allegedly been poisoned. Foreign experts suggested that the sudden death of the animal could occur due to a blood clot or heart attack. British experts believe that the elephant could not have been poisoned.
As reported, Boy, a 39-year-old elephant, died at Kyiv Zoo on April 26. Zoo leaders suggested that the animal had died as a result of poisoning.
Kyiv Prosecutor’s Office began to investigate the cause of the elephant’s death due to reports in the media and at the request of the zoo’s director.
