A zoo in Denmark has made international headlines with a morbid appeal to visitors. In posts shared on Facebook and Instagram, the zoo asked pet owners to donate their unwanted guinea pigs, rabbits, chickens and horses so they could be fed to predators.
The Aalborg Zoo added a caveat: the pets must be healthy.
With this initiative, the zoo said it was trying to imitate the natural food chain of the animals – something that all zoos have a responsibility to do, it said.
Denmark zoo’s appeal
“Chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs make up an important part of the diet of our predators,” Aalborg Zoo explained in its Instagram post. It added that food provided this way would be reminiscent of what the predators would “naturally hunt in the wild” – especially the Eurasian lynx, which “needs whole prey.”
“If you have a healthy animal that has to leave here for various reasons, feel free to donate it to us,” it added in its appeal.
The zoo said that donated pets would be gently euthanised and then used as fodder. “That way, nothing goes to waste - and we ensure natural behavior, nutrition and well-being of our predators,” it concluded.
{{/usCountry}}The zoo said that donated pets would be gently euthanised and then used as fodder. “That way, nothing goes to waste - and we ensure natural behavior, nutrition and well-being of our predators,” it concluded.
{{/usCountry}}Appeal sparks debate
According to a CNN report, the Aalborg Zoo is home to predators like the Asiatic lion, European lynx and Sumatran tiger.
Its appeal, however, has drawn mixed reactions on social media. Some people objected to the idea of pets being used as prey. Others felt there was nothing wrong with it as unwanted pets are abandoned every day, and this way they would at least be euthanized humanely.