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Zoo slaughters healthy giraffe despite pleas by animal lovers
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A PERFECTLY healthy young giraffe was shot dead at Copenhagen Zoo yesterday despite an online petition to save it signed by thousands of animal lovers.
The zoo also turned down offers from other zoos and 500,000 euros (US$680,000) from a private individual to save the two-year-old.
The male giraffe, named Marius, was put down using a bolt pistol and its meat will be fed to carnivores at the zoo, spokesman Tobias Stenbaek Bro said.
Visitors, including children, were invited to watch while the giraffe was cut up.
Marius’ plight triggered a wave of online protests and renewed debate about the conditions of zoo animals. Before the giraffe was killed, an online petition to save it had received more than 20,000 signatures.
Stenbaek Bro said the zoo had been advised by the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria to put down Marius because there were already a lot of giraffes with similar genes in the organization’s breeding program.
The Amsterdam-based EAZA has 347 members and works to conserve global biodiversity and achieve the highest standards of care and breeding for animals.
Stenbaek Bro said the zoo turned down an offer from a private individual who wanted to buy Marius for 500,000 euros. He said a part of EAZA membership is that the zoos can’t sell to anyone not following the same rules.
That was important for the breeding programs to work.
He said other zoos had offered to take in Marius, but didn’t give details.
Animal Rights Sweden said: “It is no secret that animals are killed when there is no longer space, or if the animals don’t have genes that are interesting enough. The only way to stop this is to not visit zoos.”
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