Edinburgh Zoo kills rare piglets; Copenhagen Zoo executes young giraffe deemed ‘surplus’
October 22, 2010 Rare Piglets Killed by Edinburgh Zoo Because of Quota
How could they? Zookeepers killed baby giraffe with a bolt gun because he was 'surplus'... and then fed him to the lions
February 9, 2014
Dailymail.co.uk
Copenhagen: Zookeepers in Denmark have killed a perfectly healthy young giraffe after deeming him 'surplus' to requirements, it was revealed today. Marius, Copenhagen Zoo's 18-month-old giraffe, was shot with a bolt gun and will be chopped up for the other animals' dinner.
Thousands of people had signed petitions appealing for a change of heart over Marius, but the campaign failed.
Bengt Holst, the zoo's scientific director, told Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet that Marius needed to be killed to prevent inbreeding and keep the giraffe population down. 'You have to accept that there is a surplus of animals that cannot be included in the genetic chain without causing inbreeding problems,' he said.
The zoo is part of a European breeding programme for giraffes and is bound by rules over inbreeding to keep animals healthy.
Marius was killed with a bolt gun rather than lethal injection so the meat is not contaminated. The carcass will partly be used for research and partly to feed carnivores at the zoo.
Yorkshire Wildlife Park - which has a state-of-the-art giraffe house and the capacity for an extra male - reportedly put in a last-ditch offer to take Marius in. The director of a wildlife park in the Netherlands, Robert Krijuff, whose last-minute offer of a place was also rejected, said: 'I can't believe it. We offered to save his life. Zoos need to change the way they do business.'
But Mr Holst said all zoos had been considered and there was no place for Marius - including at Yorkshire where, he said, any space should be reserved for a genetically more important giraffe. The campaign to save him, he said, had gone 'much too far'.
Animal rights campaigners have described the move as barbaric and have accused the zoo of being unethical. Maria Evans, who started an online petition, said the giraffe 'deserves to live'. She added: 'The zoo have produced him so it is their responsibility to find him a home, no matter how long it takes. They must not be allowed to take the easy option.'
Copenhagen Zoo has previously killed bears, tigers and zebras to stop overbreeding, according to Ekstra Bladet.
Comment: Something's rotten in the state of Denmark. Understandably, there has been global condemnation of this atrocity with calls to fire Holst, boycott and/or close the zoo. Death threats have also been received. Letters can be sent to the Danish Prime Minister stm@stm.dk & the zoo@zoo.dk There is no justification for this atrocity. Would we consider curtailing our exploding population and/or human inbreeding by such a program?
Elsewhere, zoos routinely kill various species with explanations like the above, or because of space, but behind closed doors.
Zookeeper and TV personality Jack Hanna, who is also director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Ohio, joined the chorus of outrage Monday, calling the Copenhagen Zoo's decision "the most abominable, insensitive, ridiculous thing I've ever heard of."
He also questioned why the Copenhagen Zoo would keep breeding animals for which they didn't have room. The Columbus Zoo would never put down an animal in this manner, Hanna said, and he wouldn't condone showing an animal consume another animal to children. Source: CNN Feb.10/14
February 12, 2014 Second giraffe named Marius at risk of being put down in Denmark; giraffe's being spared; no zoo animal is 'surplus'
Comment: If animals aren’t named, there’s less likelihood of a personal attachment or an emotional connection to that being. We have justified our treatment of non-human species as resources to be used to benefit ourselves. It’s morally reprehensible and no matter how it’s explained, you cannot turn an inherent wrong into a right.
After giraffe uproar, Copenhagen Zoo kills 4 lions
March 25, 2014 Associated Press
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A Danish zoo that faced protests for killing a healthy giraffe to prevent inbreeding says it has put down four lions, including two cubs, to make room for a new male lion.
Citing the “pride’s natural structure and behavior,” the Copenhagen Zoo said Tuesday that two old lions had been euthanized as part of a generational shift. It said the cubs were also put down because they were not old enough to fend for themselves and “anyway would have been killed by the new male lion.”
Comment: This is insane. Psychopaths in power with no moral character whatsoever. Who knows what they’re capable of and where it’ll lead.
Related news: Giraffe kisses dying zookeeper in final goodbye; recognition of animal sentience