{"id":317591,"date":"2025-08-04T16:40:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T16:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/317591\/"},"modified":"2025-08-04T16:40:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T16:40:10","slug":"danish-zoo-asks-pet-owners-to-donate-rabbits-and-horses-to-feed-its-predators-denmark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/317591\/","title":{"rendered":"Danish zoo asks pet owners to donate rabbits and horses to feed its predators | Denmark"},"content":{"rendered":"

A zoo in Denmark<\/a> is appealing for donations of healthy small pets to be \u201cgently euthanised\u201d and fed to predators.<\/p>\n

Aalborg zoo has urged willing chicken, rabbit and guinea pig owners to hand over their pets to be eaten whole by animals including European lynx<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Live donations, it said, would be killed by trained staff. It promised that \u201cnothing goes to waste\u201d, and also said it would \u201cgratefully\u201d receive live horses.<\/p>\n

The zoo said such animals were needed in order to \u201cimitate the animals\u2019 natural food chain \u2013 for the sake of both animal welfare and professional integrity\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cChickens, rabbits and guinea pigs form an important part of the diet of our predators,\u201d Aalborg zoo wrote in a social media post alongside a picture of an openmouthed lynx. \u201cEspecially the European lynx, which needs whole prey that resembles what it would naturally hunt in the wild.\u201d<\/p>\n

It added: \u201cIf you have a healthy animal that needs to be put down for various reasons, you are welcome to donate it to us. The animals are gently euthanised by trained staff and then used as food. That way, nothing goes to waste \u2013 and we ensure natural behaviour, nutrition and wellbeing of our predators.\u201d<\/p>\n

To find out more about the scheme, pet owners are encouraged to click on a web link \u2013 illustrated by a tiger tucking into a hunk of meat \u2013 that outlines the finer details of its pet euthanasia scheme.<\/p>\n

The zoo also said it would welcome horses, which would be slaughtered for food. \u201cOur needs vary throughout the year and there may be a waiting list,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n

Any horse donated to the zoo must have a horse passport and come with the opportunity for a tax deduction on the horse\u2019s value, which is calculated on the basis of its weight.<\/p>\n

The social media post has attracted a wide array of reactions and comments. Some criticised the appeal, with one describing it as a \u201csick invention\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Others spoke out in support. \u201cI took a horse to the zoo a few years ago,\u201d said one. \u201cIt was the most peaceful and calm way it happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pia Nielsen, deputy director of Aalborg zoo, said: \u201cFor many years at Aalborg Zoo, we have fed our carnivores with smaller livestock. 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cTherefore, it makes sense to allow animals that need to be euthanised for various reasons to be of use in this way. In Denmark, this practice is common, and many of our guests and partners appreciate the opportunity to contribute. The livestock we receive as donations are chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs, and horses.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A zoo in Denmark is appealing for donations of healthy small pets to be \u201cgently euthanised\u201d and fed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":317592,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[12,26],"class_list":{"0":"post-317591","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-news","9":"tag-world"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114971490606936616","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317591\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}