Long-term lovers Napoleon and Antosia back in same enclosure at Polish zoo after politician objected to their sex schedule

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Two passionate donkeys who were separated because of an outcry over their lovemaking have been reunited at a zoo in Poland.

The couple, together for 10 years, got into trouble when mothers expressed outrage that children had to witness their mating. A local official, Lydia Dudziak, took up their cause and persuaded the director of the zoo in Poznan to have the animals put in separate pens.

The zoo acknowledged making a mistake on Thursday and said the donkeys – Napoleon and Antosia – were back again in one pen. “It was never our intention for any animals to feel uncomfortable because of their natural behaviours,” the zoo said in a statement.

The interruption of the long-standing romance has turned into a national news story in Poland in the past days. Nearly 7,000 people signed a petition to have them reunited.

Two fan pages that appeared on Facebook devoted to their cause attracted nearly 10,000 likes – and photos of donkeys in the act.

Experts weighed in, saying that forcing the donkeys to live alone could affect their psychological wellbeing. Politicians were asked about it on the country’s leading news programmes.

“Animals separated by sex into different cages? It’s complete idiocy,” said Stefan Niesiolowski, a legislator with the governing party, Civic Platform.

Even the spokesman for the conservative Law and Justice party, which Dudziak belongs to, would not come to her defence.

“It’s a level of absurdity … that has been crossed to such an extent that I don’t even want to read or know about this,” Adam Hofman said on Wednesday, on behalf of the party.

In their decade together, Napoleon and Antosia have produced six offspring.