Vets destroy cow elephant addicted to amphetamines

VETS in Thailand have put to death an elephant that went blind and suffered years of painful side-effects after being hooked on drugs by its owner.

The 56-year-old cow elephant, named Khamee, made headlines in 1994 when vets at the Lampang Elephant Hospital, in northern Thailand, discovered that it had become addicted to amphetamines.

Its owner fed the synthetic stimulants to the animal to keep it awake at night so it could haul logs in an illegal lumber operation in a nearby jungle.