Yeah… You read that headline correctly.
A zoo in Poland has recently adopted a policy of administering cannabidiol, or CBD, tinctures to their more ornery elephant residents.
The Warsaw Zoo made the move for its rather anxious herd of three elephants who recently lost a loved one. Each of the grown elephants is being exposed to a daily dose of CBD for relaxation and recovery.
“It’s an attempt to find a new natural alternative to the existing methods of combating stress, especially pharmaceutical drugs,” Agnieszka Czujkowska, head veterinarian on the project, told the Guardian.
High Times magazine claims the herd of elephants has been facing a special level of difficulty and anxiety after the death of their compatriot, an elderly elephant named Erma.
CBD has gained major popularity since its legalization in 2018 for a multitude of reasons, among them people’s attraction to their use for chronic pain, insomnia, inflammation and other problems.
While more scientific and clinical research needs to be performed to parse out the exact, provable benefits of CBD, testimonials have poured in from all over the United States about how much hemp and CBD products have improved people’s lives.
Beyond just its effectiveness on human users, CBD fans have also reported happiness with the products’ effects for their pets.
Statistically speaking, pet owners are highly likely to experiment with CBD products. And while cats and dogs seem to love CBD, elephants seem like prime candidates as beautiful, majestic and empathetic creatures that suffer greatly from losses like those in Poland recently faced.
“Contrary to what some would imagine, the elephants won’t be using cannabis pipes nor will they be getting huge barrels of it,” Czujkowska said told the Guardian.
According to the Daily Mail UK, the initial pilot program on the Warsaw Zoo elephants featured dosages of a dozen drops of CBD oil a few times a day.
Czujkowska has reported to multiple sources that the results so far in the pilot program have been quite positive.
If the results continue apace, more zoo animals will be exposed to further usage of CBD regimens, she said.
Sources