Compassionate Euthanasia in Chicago

On Tuesday, veterinarians at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo euthanized Yiet Yang, an elderly snow leopard. The Chicago Tribune reports that Yiet Yang had severe weakness from chronic renal failure and increasing lameness in her rear legs. "She has been declining for a number of years," said Robyn Barbiers, the zoo's vice president of collections. "In the last few days she wasn't getting around as well as she should, so keepers on Tuesday coaxed her indoors. She was in such bad shape, she was having trouble getting up and keeping her balance well enough to stand."Yiet Yang also had been treated for several months for a urinary tract infection, but recently that condition had developed resistance to antibiotics, said Barbiers. The Chicago Tribune also reports that "Zoos are facing more problems with geriatric animals because constant medical attention and better diets are keeping many of them alive far beyond what would be normal in the wild." The zoo's VP of Collections explained that Yiet Yang's condition was so poor "that the humane act would be to euthanize her." Perhaps we can learn some lessons for treating ourselves from the way we treat our zoo animals.