Gara, a Siberian tiger, cares for her new child cubs on the Aalborg Zoo in Denmark in 2008.
Henning Bagger/AFP through Getty Photos
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Henning Bagger/AFP through Getty Photos
A European zoo stirred up intrigue and controversy after a social media submit asking for surplus pets to be donated to feed captive animals went viral.
In a submit on Fb, the Aalborg Zoo in Denmark requested folks to donate undesirable pets that might be “gently euthanized” and fed to predators in captivity.
“Chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs kind an vital a part of the eating regimen of our predators – particularly the European lynx, which wants entire prey that resembles what it will naturally hunt within the wild,” the zoo wrote.
“In zoos we now have a accountability to mimic the pure meals chain of the animals – when it comes to each animal welfare {and professional} integrity,” the submit continued. “That approach, nothing goes to waste – and we guarantee pure habits, diet and well-being of our predators.”
The zoo additionally accepts horses as a part of its fodder program.
The Fb submit rapidly turned a battleground between commenters who have been appalled on the idea of euthanizing wholesome pets for animal feed, and those that applauded the zoo for its methodology of sustaining a sensible meals provide for its animals.
A lot of the umbrage directed towards the zoo appeared to stem from the usage of the phrase “pets” to consult with the animals, which referred to as to thoughts the picture of well-loved lapdogs being despatched alive right into a literal lions’ den.
“It is a joke proper,” one enraged commenter wrote. “Nobody would carry his wholesome pet to a zoo to allow them to kill it and feed it to their animals.”
“In Denmark, this observe is frequent”
The Aalborg Zoo says canines and cats are excluded from this system. Donatable animals are restricted to chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs, and horses, it says, including that this can be a observe it has maintained with patrons for years.
“When retaining carnivores, it’s obligatory to supply them with meat, ideally with fur, bones, and many others., to provide them as pure a eating regimen as attainable,” zoo Deputy Director Pia Nielsen mentioned in an announcement to NPR.
“Subsequently, it is smart to permit animals that have to be euthanized for varied causes to be of use on this approach. In Denmark, this observe is frequent, and plenty of of our friends and companions recognize the chance to contribute,” Nielsen added.
What specialists say
Consultants say that it is necessary for captive animals to be fed entire animal elements, together with fur, bones and organs, to take care of the kind of consuming habits they’d exhibit within the wild.
Captive carnivores in the US typically have their diets supplemented with commercially obtainable meat merchandise, like chunk or mincemeat.
“The issue with simply feeding lions meat is that the offal (liver, coronary heart, and many others.) is way richer in varied vitamins than muscle meat – wild lions solely begin consuming the muscle tissue after they’ve completed the offal,” Craig Packer, founder and director of the Lion Middle on the College of Minnesota, informed NPR in an e mail. “So feeding lions something in addition to horse and cow meat would most likely be a welcome change.”
The Affiliation of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) is an accreditation physique for conservation packages in the US. It mentioned that its member zoos don’t make use of or endorse the solicitation of pets for meals.
However the Dietary Advisory Group to the AZA highlights the significance of predatory animals nonetheless getting access to massive and entire animal stays as a part of a balanced eating regimen.
“Feeding vertebrate animal carcasses to captive carnivores has been a administration software utilized by zoos in the US for a few years,” the advisory group said in a statement.
“It encompasses all kinds of prey varieties/type of presentation, from entire physique to portion managed, and has the helpful results of stimulating exercise and bettering regular feeding habits,” it mentioned.
The distinction in American and European zoo practices has been highlighted earlier than, notably within the case of Denmark.
In 2015, the nation’s Odense Zoo made worldwide headlines for its choice to kill and publicly dissect a 9-month-old feminine lion in entrance of college youngsters, as a method to manage the power’s lion inhabitants – a observe the zoo had been carrying on for many years.
A 12 months earlier than within the capital metropolis of Copenhagen, animal rights activists were horrified to study {that a} wholesome two-year-old giraffe often called Marius had been euthanized and his stays fed to the zoo’s lions. The Copenhagen Zoo mentioned placing Marius down had been essential to keep away from inbreeding amongst its giraffe inhabitants.
