Latest news with #MarcusClauss
The Guardian
2 days ago
- General
- 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.'
The Guardian
3 days ago
- General
- 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.'
Washington Post
6 days ago
- Health
- Washington Post
A Danish zoo is seeking unwanted pets — to feed to its predators
A zoo in Denmark has put out a call for people to donate unwanted pets and animals — including chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs — so they can be turned into feed for its predators. Aalborg Zoo wrote on social media last week that healthy animals it receives will be 'gently euthanized' by trained staff and then used as food for the predators, adding that this would help the zoo replicate its animals' natural food chain. 'That way, nothing goes to waste — and we ensure natural behavior, nutrition and well-being of our predators,' the zoo said, adding that some of its animals needed to eat 'whole' prey. The zoo also accepts donations of certain horses, which are also euthanized and then used as food. Online, critics balked at the idea of pets being fed to zoo animals, calling it a 'cheap publicity stunt,' 'disrespectful' and 'sick,' and a policy they say could encourage pet neglect. However, others said it was a good option for people whose pets are nearing the end of their lives and a way to make sure their deaths serve a purpose. Experts say donation can be a more cost-effective and natural way of feeding zoo animals who might otherwise be fed meat from commercial sources that can come from animals raised in poor conditions. 'If you agree to the general principle that you have carnivorous animals in a zoo, you somehow succumb to the necessity that you have to feed them animal material,' Marcus Clauss, co-director of the Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife at the University of Zurich, said in an interview. 'If you do this in a way that is not primarily directed at economics, but at animal welfare, you will strive to get animals that had high welfare, ideally.' Aalborg Zoo did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. In a statement shared with the outlet Popular Science, spokeswoman Pia Nielsen said the practice of feeding carnivorous animals with smaller livestock has been used at Aalborg Zoo for many years and is common in Denmark. '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,' Nielsen told Popular Science. 'In Denmark, this practice is common, and many of our guests and partners appreciate the opportunity to contribute.' Zoos in other countries also accept donations of livestock, or deceased animals, to feed their predators. The Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary in New Mexico, for example, states on its website that it accepts donations of 'livestock that has passed away or needs to be humanely euthanized' to feed its wolves and recommends donation over 'having to dispose of the deceased in a landfill, or go through the costly process of cremation.' The Alaska Zoo in Anchorage recently put out a call for frozen meat and fish donations for its animals. Clauss said that when horses are slaughtered, 'you have a huge amount of animal — meat, bones, etc. — that goes to waste in our system because it's not used by humans.' He said he supports zoos offering people the option of donating their horses if the alternative is that zoos purchase horsemeat to feed their carnivores. 'Why not get it that way directly?' Clauss acknowledged concerns that encouraging people to donate animals might mean fewer unwanted pets are placed in shelters. But he said pet shelters in many countries, including the United States, are overcrowded and can't always ensure optimal conditions for the pets in their care, so that option might not guarantee a higher welfare for the unwanted animals. And he said that forcing someone who doesn't want or can't afford their pet to keep them may also not be good for the animal. 'People who want to get rid of their animals will find a way of doing that,' he said. In response to the call for donations by the Aalborg Zoo, several Facebook users wrote that they took their horses to be donated there and praised the zoo's handling of their animals, while others wrote that they were planning to donate their horses in the future. It was not immediately clear how the donated animals would be euthanized. On Facebook, the zoo said trained professionals worked to make the deaths as quick and painless as possible.
