Zoo asks for unwanted pets to feed to captive predators
Aalborg zoo in northern Jutland issued a call for small healthy animals to be donated to ensure 'nothing goes to waste'.
In a social media post, the zookeepers suggested the animals would be fed to their contingent of European lynx.
'Chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs form an important part of the diet of our predators,' the zoo said. 'Especially the European lynx, which needs whole prey that resembles what it would naturally hunt in the wild.'
Owners could donate a maximum of four animals, zookeepers said, which would then be euthanised before being used as food.
Aalborg Zoo is also accepting donations of horses to be fed to its animals, provided they are accompanied with the correct paperwork. In Denmark, horse owners can receive tax deductions in some circumstances when donating animals to zoos.
Angry social media users expressed their outrage on the zoo's Instagram page. 'Shame on you,' one Instagram user wrote.
Another said: 'Asking people to send healthy animals that they don't want any more to you, so they can be slaughtered and fed to the zoo animals is one of the weirdest things I ever read.'
'Go vegan and stop supporting zoos,' wrote a third commentator, adding a green vomit emoji.
There was outrage last week when Nuremberg Zoo in Germany killed 12 healthy baboons, citing overcrowding in their enclosure, then fed them to the lions, tigers and wolves.
Gruesome spectacle for visitors
German media reported that the baboon corpses had their hands and feet removed before they were fed to the predators, in full view of visitors to the zoo.
The zoo has defended the decision, insisting it was a last resort after attempts to find other solutions to the overcrowding failed.
The furore over Aalborg Zoo is not the first time that a Danish zoo has drawn controversy for its approach to animal death and the brutality of nature.
In 2014, Marius, a male giraffe at Copenhagen Zoo, was killed by zoo authorities as his genes were too similar to other giraffes in their breeding programme.
Despite an international outcry from animal lovers, Marius was also publicly dissected 'to help educate people about wildlife'.
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The Guardian
10 hours ago
- The Guardian
‘Bizarre and wrong': Danish zoo sparks debate with plea for pets to use as food
After a Danish zoo posted a reminder of its long-running programme allowing people to donate their healthy, small pets to be 'gently euthanised' and fed to predators, reaction poured in from across the globe. But beyond the battleground playing out on social media – where some protested against the idea of using pets as prey and others praised the zoo's efforts to drum up a practical food supply – some were swift to point out that the zoo was simply laying bare the reality of keeping carnivores in captivity. 'If you accept the fact that you have carnivores in human care, either as a pet or as a zoo, you will agree to the fact that you feed them animal matter. Basically there is no other choice,' said Marcus Clauss, the co-director of the Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife at the University of Zurich, pointing to vegan dog food as one of the few exceptions to this. 'And then the logical next step is the question, where do you source that animal product from?' As the zoo's plea made headlines around the world, Aalborg zoo closed comments on its post, citing 'hateful and malicious rhetoric'. The zoo said it was simply aiming to mimic the natural food chain by urging those with chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs that need to be put down to instead hand them over to the zoo. 'That way, nothing goes to waste – and we ensure the natural behaviour, nutrition and wellbeing of our predators.' Few would question the alternative, even though it came with the risk that zoo animals could end up being fed meat from animals raised in relatively poor conditions, said Clauss. 'As long as it's beef from the slaughterhouse, nobody sees it and nobody needs to think about it,' he said. 'As soon as it's an animal that is being killed at the zoo, it's in everybody's face.' Some of the backlash was likely down to the wording of the appeal, said Dan Ashe of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which counts more than 200 accredited facilities spanning from the US to the UAE. 'I think the thing that people maybe see as potentially shocking is the use of the word pet,' he said. He chalked it up to cultural differences. 'Professionally, I would not expect anything like that to happen at one of our accredited zoos, certainly not here in the US. But our accreditation policies wouldn't necessarily prohibit it.' The plea, however, spoke to a common understanding among zoos around the world: the importance, both nutritionally and behaviourally, of mimicking nature by feeding carnivores the entire carcass of animals. 'Carcass-feeding is a regular feature of what our members do when they are available, some of our members accept donations of road-killed deer or animals,' said Ashe. Some zoos had actively sought to spotlight this, he said, citing a recent event at Denver zoo where the public was invited – and warned appropriately beforehand – to watch as lions were fed pig carcasses. 'The lions seemed to benefit, and certainly the guests who chose to watch it – it was packed,' he said. Others, however, found little redeeming in the Danish appeal. 'To me this was so far beyond the pale,' said Clifford Warwick, a UK-based consultant biologist and medical scientist. 'The entire thing is bizarre and wrong.' As the zoo did not specify how the donated pets would be euthanised, Warwick worried it would be impossible to do so in a way that was both humane and ensured that the animals remained safe to be eaten by predators such as the European lynx. 'And there's no validity to their claim of needing to give animals a natural diet this way,' he said. 'Lynx don't eat guinea pigs. Where do they get guinea pigs from? Lynx would eat almost any small mammal, sure, but they can't turn around and say that's a natural behaviour.' Aalborg zoo did not reply to a request for an interview. At a time when animal shelters around the world are grappling with overcrowding, Warwick also bristled at what he saw as the wider implications of the zoo's message. 'It further devalues the lives of pets … It's a horrendous devaluation of animal life,' he said. 'Are you really happy saying: 'OK, well Rex or Bruno, the time has come, there's a hungry lion at the local zoo. Bye, off you go.'' The wide range of reactions hints at the many factors that play into the broader question of how to keep carnivores fed at zoos, said Alessandro Di Marzio, the science lead at Riga zoo. 'Zoos are spread across a wide range of areas, so you'll find places where certain techniques are considered acceptable and more or less normal for society, while in other areas they're not,' he said, with local laws, economic resources and culture also helping to shape these tactics. 'It depends on all these circumstances.' The resulting clash of cultures has at times been glaring; earlier this year, Germany's Nuremberg zoo sparked protests after it confirmed it had killed six of its 12 Guinea baboons due to overcrowding and had fed the primates to lions, tigers, maned wolves and marbled polecats. In Denmark, Copenhagen zoo was the focus of global protests in 2014 after it put down an 18-month-old giraffe, citing the risk of inbreeding, and fed some of the meat to the zoo's lions. For Clauss, the heated debate unleashed this week recalled one of the emails sent to Copenhagen zoo after the euthanasia of the giraffe. 'It said: 'Why do you have to kill animals to feed your carnivores? Can't you just buy meat?'' While he did not think the view was representative in any way, he marvelled at how the Danish appeal had served to kickstart a global conversation. 'The amazing thing is that we learn about these things because of zoos,' he said. 'And not because of what we do at the supermarket.'
Daily Mirror
11 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
EXCLUSIVE: 'I let a zoo feed my pet rabbit to the tigers, it was a super-nice experience'
A Danish zoo, which caused international outrage after asking the public to donate their unwanted "healthy pets" for predators, has defended its actions, stating that the animals need "fur and bones." Aalborg Zoo in North Jutland posted a plea on social media for live rabbits, chickens, and guinea pigs to be donated, which its trained staff would "gently euthanise". The zoo explained that these animals are "an important part of the diet of our predators - especially the European lynx, which needs whole prey that resembles what it would naturally hunt in the wild." Aalborg Zoo, which is home to 1,500 animals belonging to 126 species, also sought donations of live horses under 147cm tall with a pet passport. Furthermore, it mentioned that if pet owners need to rehome animals "for various reasons", they could bring up to four small species at a time. It comes as a millionaire hunter was gored to death by 'Black Death' buffalo he was trying to kill. The zoo's statement read: "In zoos, we have a responsibility to imitate the animals' natural food chain - for the sake of both animal welfare and professional integrity," adding, "Nothing goes to waste - and we ensure natural behaviour, nutrition and well-being of our predators." Pet owner Kristina Meincke recounted her experience of surrendering her rabbit, which was then humanely put down and served as food for the carnivores. She commended the zoo for the "super nice" process. Her feedback was positive, writing on social media: "This is such a fine arrangement. I have delivered a rabbit to you, and it was a super nice and professional experience."
Daily Mirror
12 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
'I let a zoo feed my pet rabbit to the tigers, it was a super-nice experience'
Aalborg Zoo in Denmark asked people on social media to donate their unwanted pets and horses to feed their predators. However, it prompted a furious fallout from across the globe A Danish zoo, which caused international outrage after asking the public to donate their unwanted "healthy pets" for predators, has defended its actions, stating that the animals need "fur and bones." Aalborg Zoo in North Jutland posted a plea on social media for live rabbits, chickens, and guinea pigs to be donated, which its trained staff would "gently euthanise". The zoo explained that these animals are "an important part of the diet of our predators - especially the European lynx, which needs whole prey that resembles what it would naturally hunt in the wild." Aalborg Zoo, which is home to 1,500 animals belonging to 126 species, also sought donations of live horses under 147cm tall with a pet passport. Furthermore, it mentioned that if pet owners need to rehome animals "for various reasons", they could bring up to four small species at a time. It comes as a millionaire hunter was gored to death by 'Black Death' buffalo he was trying to kill. READ MORE: British man's final row with daughter-in-law before 'trying to drown her abroad' The zoo's statement read: "In zoos, we have a responsibility to imitate the animals' natural food chain - for the sake of both animal welfare and professional integrity," adding, "Nothing goes to waste - and we ensure natural behaviour, nutrition and well-being of our predators." Pet owner Kristina Meincke recounted her experience of surrendering her rabbit, which was then humanely put down and served as food for the carnivores. She commended the zoo for the "super nice" process. Her feedback was positive, writing on social media: "This is such a fine arrangement. I have delivered a rabbit to you, and it was a super nice and professional experience." Despite this, the zoo's social media call-out went viral, attracting thousands of comments from around the world, with numerous pet owners expressing outrage over the request. The zoo, which has 375,000 visitors each year, had to shut down comments and restrict interactions due to the onslaught of criticism. Pia Nielsen, the zoo's deputy director, was compelled to justify the appeal, stating it was "necessary" to supply the animals with "meat, preferably with fur and bones." She told The Mirror: "At Aalborg Zoo, we have always had various carnivores. Carnivores represent an important and diverse group of animals in nature. They fill a central niche in ecosystems and play a crucial role in the balance of nature. At the same time, predators evoke both fascination and curiosity – and help communicate important messages about the connections in nature and biodiversity. "We have both large and small carnivores in Aalborg. We place great emphasis on the animals' health. We monitor them daily, have daily veterinary checks, and assess their welfare based on these daily observations. "For many years we have fed our carnivores with smaller livestock. When keeping carnivores, it is necessary to provide them with meat, preferably with fur, bones, etc., to give them as natural a diet as possible. "Therefore, it makes sense to allow animals that need to be euthanized for various reasons to be of use in this way. In Denmark, this practice is common, and many of our guests and partners appreciate the opportunity to contribute. The livestock we receive as donations are chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs, and horses." Dr Mark Jones of Born Free, an international wildlife charity dedicated to rescuing and safeguarding animals from exploitation, has slammed the zoo's recent appeal as a betrayal of their supposed commitment to animal welfare. Speaking to The Mirror, he said: "Companion animals have a particular place in human-animal relationships. The very idea of a zoo offering to take unwanted pets in order to kill them and feed them to their predators will horrify most right-minded people. "Moreover, Born Free has always maintained that big cats and other predators don't belong in zoos and should be phased out. Zoos cannot provide for the complex needs of these animals, and the idea that feeding them former pet animals will somehow compensate for the poor welfare they experience is preposterous. "This announcement by the zoo undermines any claim that animal welfare is their top priority. Anyone who cannot keep a healthy pet animal should secure its future through established rescue and rehoming organisations, rather than giving it to a zoo to be killed and used as 'fodder' in order to perpetuate the keeping of wild animals in captivity for our entertainment."
