The truth behind the case of a cover up in the death of a young giraffe in Nanjing last year has animal lovers up in arms, and left a local animal hospital and well-renowned industry journal with their respectability in tatters.
It all began in May of 2019, when a young giraffe at the Nanjing Jinniu Lake Wildlife Kingdom in Liuhe District was trampled on, leaving the animal with a fractured leg. The park authorities reached out to AMC (Animal Medical Centre) in Nanjing’s Hexi area, who assisted in performing an operation on the giraffe, one which was believed to be a success, until now.
Animal lovers in Nanjing and across China are now displaying their outrage after an online tip off went viral, stating that the giraffe had in fact died of postoperative infection about a week after the surgery.
A reporter for Purple Cow News checked with Jinniu Lake Wildlife Kingdom, whereupon a Mr. Shen, a high-level figure with the park, confirmed the tip off.
That which has the public most enraged, however, is the publishing of an article in a respected journal that stated the giraffe could stand on the affected limb just 2 days after the operation, that its condition was continuing to improve 5 months later and it was “recovering well”.
The journal, “Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine”, sponsored by China’s Ministry of Education and an unnamed university in Nanjing, is regarded as the core journal of the industry. Its Volume 52, Issue 1, published this year, contained the article, entitled “Diagnosis and Treatment of Metatarsal Fracture in a Giraffe”. The signatures on the article are those of a Dr. Liu and Dr. Dong, who had operated on the young giraffe.
Incredulously, when reporters approached AMC yesterday afternoon, 11 August, the hospital admitted that there had indeed been some “impreciseness”, reports The Paper.
The giraffe that died was about 2 years old at the time, a male with a fractured metatarsal bone in his left hind leg. Due to giraffes’ unique physiological makeup, they cannot be put under a general anesthetic, and can only be operated upon under local anesthesia. The wildlife park therefore constructed a steel frame to support the giraffe for the operation, during which the giraffe was also blindfolded to reduce his panic.
Back at AMC, it was also learned that the investigating reporter had a previous dispute with the hospital. In April of this year, one of the reporter’s pet dogs died after receiving treatment at AMC. The whistleblower accused the hospital of misleading the public by including the operation on the giraffe in its promotional literature.
AMC responded that the dogs’s death was not the result of their treatment and that they hoped settle the dispute through legal means.
