(WBNG) — PETA has released a statement over the death of Azizi, the calf April the giraffe gave birth to in 2019.
The statement was sent to 12 News. It reads:
How many giraffes have to suffer so that Animal Adventure Park gets some social media followers? Azizi wasn’t even 2 years old when he died of gastrointestinal disease, like so many other captive giraffes, and the roadside zoo is already trying to cash in on another giraffe’s pregnancy. PETA is calling on the park to stop its greedy breeding cycle and urging everyone who cares about wildlife to avoid exploitative roadside zoos like lives depend on it—because they do.
Azizi died at the East Texas Zoo and Gator Park in Grand Saline, Texas.
According to the zoo, it died from a twisted gut around his cranial mesenteric artery.
To read the park’s announcement, click here.
12 News reached out to Animal Adventure Park Thursday. The park declined to comment.