Russian MMA Fighter Sparks Outrage After Forcing Chimpanzee to Vape; Animal’s Health Deteriorates, Surgery May Be Needed

Key points:

·Anastasia Luchkina sparks controversy: she filmed a video at the Taigan Wildlife Park of a chimpanzee inhaling an e-cigarette. The video shows the chimpanzee's health deteriorating after ingesting e-liquid. Luchkina later publicly apologized on Instagram. 

·The park took action: veterinarians confirmed that the chimpanzee, Dana, exhibited symptoms such as refusing to eat and difficulty standing. It is suspected that the chimpanzee may require surgery due to ingesting too much e-liquid. The park had just experienced a tragic incident in June where a lion fatally attacked a caretaker. 

According to a report by National World on July 3rd, 24-year-old Russian MMA fighter Anastasia Luchkina shared a video on social media demonstrating how to use an e-cigarette to the chimpanzee.

She then passed the e-cigarette through the wire mesh to the gorilla in the cage, who brought it to its mouth, took a puff, and then backed away, exhaling a cloud of vapor.

Luchigina repeatedly gave an e-cigarette to a chimpanzee named Dana, causing it to inhale too forcefully and swallow the e-liquid. Now, the veterinarian is concerned that Dana's condition may worsen and require surgery to remove the e-liquid from its system.

This video was filmed at the Taigan Safari Park in Crimea, Russia, and has sparked global protests, with calls to revoke her boxing license.

Luching asked for forgiveness with embarrassment on Instagram afterwards：

"I love animals very much and do not want to cause any harm to their health. I ask for forgiveness from everyone and promise that this will not happen again. Before me, other zoo visitors had also given tobacco products to this gorilla. I followed their example and filmed the act. I sincerely want to continue my career in sports."

At the same time, zoo staff reported that Dana's condition has deteriorated. They stated that she is not eating, and can hardly stand up.

The veterinarian suspected that she had inhaled an excessive amount of concentrated e-cigarette liquid and arranged for surgery to remove it.

Social media users and animal rights activists have been attacking Lucien for her actions.

The park is the same place where last month Oleg Zubkov, the director of the Taigan Lion Park, was bitten on the throat while feeding his lions.