MOSCOW, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- A 40-year-old donkey used in a stunt to advertise a parasailing company has died of a heart attack on an animal farm near Moscow, officials said.
The donkey, named Anapka, was sent aloft attached to a parasail last summer over the Sea of Azov and its panicked braying horrified and angered beach-goers in the Krasnodar area of Russia, RIA Novosti reported.
Animal rights activists, including former actress Brigitte Bardot, wanted its owner prosecuted but officials said they couldn't file charges because only killing or maiming an animal is grounds for prosecution in Russia.
"The rise in the air of (an) animal without anesthesia borders on bullying and unequivocally leads to severe stress, if not death," said veterinarian Olga Bogdanov.
The donkey ultimately ended up at a Moscow stable called Strely Yarily, where it at first appeared to be in good health, the Moscow Times reported.
But Anapka eventually became unable to eat and suffered seizures. Veterinarians couldn't say if it died as a result of stress from the advertising stunt or from old age.
Donkeys typically live 25 to 35 years.
