Why Did This Zoo Kill A Healthy Giraffe In Front Of Children And Feed It To Lions?
Copenhagen Zoo workers are now receiving death threats after they shot dead a healthy giraffe named Marius on Sunday. The 18-month-old giraffe was leaning down to eat rye bread, one of his favorite snacks, when the vet pulled the trigger.
By Sadho Ram — 12 Feb 2014, 03:12 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
The carcass of Marius, a male giraffe, is eaten by lions after he was put down in Copenhagen Zoo on Sunday, 9 February 2014
The organization which represents many of Canada's zoos is questioning the wisdom of a Denmark zoo's decision to kill a young giraffe and fed its remains to lions in front of an audience.
vancouversun.comGALLERY: An 18-month-old healthy giraffe Marius was skinned and fed to lions as children watch on
A vet carries out an autopsy on Marius in front of a crowd at Copenhagen zoo
Image via independent.co.uk
A vet holds up one of Marius' hooves while performing an autopsy on the young giraffe at Copenhagen zoo
Image via independent.co.uk
Copenhagen Zoo staff have explained that they shot Marius for controlling the population and educating children. But immense anger is building from animal rights activists, who are demanding retribution.
A male giraffe named Marius had the unfortunate distinction of being not very distinct: that is, his genes were not sufficiently diverse.
isciencetimes.com
In order to prevent inbreeding, the Copenhagen Zoo decided to euthanize him with a captive bolt gun, a spokesman for the zoo has said, and he died instantly Sunday morning.
fitsnews.com
"We don't do it to be cruel; we do it to ensure a healthy population," Scientific Director Bengt Holst was quoted as saying. "You have to breed them to make sure the population is renewed."
Marius was shot in front of young schoolchildren because, "zoos should be committed to showing the real thing and not to make nature into a Disney World," according to Bengt Holst, director of research and conservation for the zoo.
digitaljournal.com
Bengt Holst, director of research and conservation at the Copenhagen Zoo, defends the decision to kill Marius on a CNN appearance.
Image via nydailynews.comThe decision followed a concurring recommendation from the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, or EAZA, a member-based organization that upholds standards of care and biodiversity in the industry. But it was ultimately Holst's call on whether to put down Marius.
isciencetimes.comHe said the backlash that flooded in went so far as to include death threats. They told him, "If you kill the giraffe, I'll kill you." By Monday morning, an online petition to have Holst fired had gathered nearly 2,000 signatures. "The world is outraged," they wrote.
cnn.comMuch of the outrage stems from the fact that many zoos and individuals offered to take or even buy the giraffe from the Copenhagen Zoo
The Associated Press reported that one person offered $680,000. Zoo officials turned down most of these offers because they were not EAZA members.
One zoo, the Yorkshire Wildlife Park in England, is a member, but Copenhagen declined them as well. They said Marius' brother already lives there, and the space should be used for a more genetically diverse giraffe.
Holst has said options such as neutering and contraceptives can cause health problems that diminish a giraffe's quality of life.
isciencetimes.comBut what happened after Marius died only added insult to injury for animal rights activists
After he was euthanized, the zoo invited the public to gather around zoo veterinarians as they performed an autopsy.
cnn.com
Photos quickly hit the wires showing doctors in blood-speckled white coats carving up Marius and explaining the various giraffe parts as families with children looked on.
"I'm actually proud because I think we have given children a huge understanding of the anatomy of a giraffe that they wouldn't have had from watching a giraffe in a photo," a zoo spokesman told the Associated Press.
fitsnews.com
Afterward, Marius was fed to lions at the zoo. According to The Times, they consider this an obvious method for discarding meat, something that happens every day in the wild. "We still have meat for lions, tigers and leopards," Holst told the newspaper. "It's just meat that can be fed to every animal."
isciencetimes.comBut PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in the UK, and others have said that nothing about zoos has anything to do with the wild
They said giraffes and other animals are simply being imprisoned for profit, far from their natural habitats. Animal Rights Sweden said that this sort of thing happens all the time in zoos around the world. Read about a zoo in Indonesia that locals call "The Zoo of Death."
nydailynews.comThe Copenhagen Zoo, meanwhile, wonders whether there would have been so much hostility if it had put down an antelope, for example. "I don't think anyone would have lifted an eyebrow if it was a pig," Holst told the AP.
A veterinarian at the Copenhagen Zoo holds up a leg of a euthanized giraffe in an educational autopsy Sunday.
Image via isciencetimes.com