Picture courtesy of Shutterstock

 

Aalborg Zoo, located in northern Denmark, is stirring controversy by requesting that locals donate unwanted pets, including guinea pigs, rabbits, and even small horses, to feed their predators. This unusual appeal, intended to mimic the natural diet of wild carnivores, was announced in a Facebook post featuring a fierce lynx.

 

The zoo asserts that providing whole animals, such as guinea pigs and rabbits, to their carnivores like the Asiatic lion and Sumatran tiger promotes natural behaviour and nutrition while ensuring that nothing goes to waste. Donated animals will be humanely euthanised by trained staff before being used as food.

 

Online, reactions are split, with some condemning the practice of turning pets into prey, while others support the zoo’s sustainable approach to animal feeding. The zoo clarifies that this initiative has been standard practice in Denmark for years, aiming to give carnivores a more authentic diet, including elements like fur and bones, reported CNN.

 

According to the zoo's deputy director, Pia Nielsen, using donated animals is part of a broader ecosystem approach. She highlights that contributing animals facing euthanasia for various reasons helps maintain balance and plays into the zoo’s educational mission.

 

Denmark's zoos have previously faced public scrutiny for similar practices, such as in 2014 when the Copenhagen Zoo euthanised a giraffe named Marius to prevent inbreeding. Despite petitions, its carcass served both research and feeding purposes. Subsequent criticism arose when lions were euthanised to introduce a new male in a breeding programme.

 

The debate addresses conservation ethics and animal welfare, with Aalborg Zoo asserting that its methods align well with natural principles and local standards. As the discussion continues, the zoo invites community involvement in fostering a more profound understanding of nature’s complex food webs.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from CCN 2025-08-07

 

OUCH!!YEIKS!!!that’s not going to go over well!!

Breeding programmes  ?

 

 

I'm thinking of setting up a 'pet' export service.

There is an endless stream of soi dogs local stock available.

 

 

It's called recycling. 

Meh.... I buy gold fish to feed my Tiger Oscars !

As long as the pets are being euthanized (killed) before they are given to the zoo carnivores for food, I have no problem with this. There's no difference in doing this and our (humans') eating meat from a dead (killed) animal. In fact, we (humans) even eat live animals, such as oysters.

Mid 80's. A RAF Bomber Squadron based in Germany had a snake as its mascot. Once a week a different guy was sent down to the local pet shop to bring back live mice. Also had a sliding sign on the entrance, IN or Out.

Well the Danish are renowned for their disgusting mink farms.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mink_industry_in_Denmark

 

Also some whaling:

https://www.veganfoodandliving.com/features/faroe-islands-whaling-the-horrifying-truth-behind-the-tradition/

 

No surprize reading this article.

Some animals eat meat just as we humans do.

We farm and harvest animals for their flesh and the consumer pays for the product. However, many are unable to equate the cellephane wrapped steak in the store to a cute animal roaming a field,

Zoos are profit making businesses and should be buying needed food surplies as a normal expense of that business.  If they cant aford this basic expense they should close their doors, not ask for donations of family pets under the guise of it being a natural food source. The diet of many pets belies this belief. 

 

Perhaps hypocritically, this source will always raise moralistic emotions and  create problems in some communities.  For the sake of those whose  perceptions are that their deli meat has no connection to their fluffy pet, I believe this type of business should only obtain their feed from farmed or wild sources. 

No one is screaming, "They're eating our cats, they're eating our dogs!" So it's all good.

I see the cowardly, moronic, phantom thumb downer character has popped up. 

I used to buy dead baby mice to feed my Burmese Python, but the shop would sometimes run out when it needed feeding so I would by live baby hamsters, gerbils, mice, basically anything it would eat.

The zoo isn't feeding pets to the carnivores, it feeds dead animals that were pets but are no longer.

Once something is dead you don't need to care about it's body, this goes for humans as well as pets. 

I would have been fine with feeding my dead parents to lions if it would help the lions.  I had no need for their bodies once they were dead and they definitely didn't!  Would have been cheaper than the sodding cremations and the stupid "service" we had to sit through.

5 minutes ago, Old Croc said:

I see the cowardly, moronic, phantom thumb downer character has popped up. 

I see the pathetic, dummy spitting toddler is getting upset about little emojis. Seriously get over it, they are meaningless.

(And no it wasn't me)

5 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

I see the pathetic, dummy spitting toddler is getting upset about little emojis. Seriously get over it, they are meaningless.

(And no it wasn't me)

Where did that "flounce" come from? A common user of derogatory emojis are you, or have I upset you personally somewhere along the line? I dont remember, you're quite forgettable.

Those woke Danes!

Reminds me of a sign on a country road:

Rabbits for Sale. Pets or Meat.

Hey, it could be worse.

They could be deporting those pets to El Salvador.

2 hours ago, Freddy42OZ said:

I used to buy dead baby mice to feed my Burmese Python, but the shop would sometimes run out when it needed feeding so I would by live baby hamsters, gerbils, mice, basically anything it would eat.

The zoo isn't feeding pets to the carnivores, it feeds dead animals that were pets but are no longer.

Once something is dead you don't need to care about it's body, this goes for humans as well as pets. 

I would have been fine with feeding my dead parents to lions if it would help the lions.  I had no need for their bodies once they were dead and they definitely didn't!  Would have been cheaper than the sodding cremations and the stupid "service" we had to sit through.

Interesting.  

 

On our property we feed the pythons with my wife's prized chooks.

12 hours ago, webfact said:

Donated animals will be humanely euthanised by trained staff before being used as food.

Anyone who loves their pet would never donate their living little friend. Imagine the poor things in a holding pen waiting to be exterminated. Wouldn't recently deceased pets seem a more sensitive alternative?

Troll post removed 

20 minutes ago, placnx said:

Anyone who loves their pet would never donate their living little friend. Imagine the poor things in a holding pen waiting to be exterminated. Wouldn't recently deceased pets seem a more sensitive alternative?

 

I'm sure you've never enjoyed a steak dinner before ya ?

While it all seems cruel, at the end of the day those animals are predators, and that is how they get their food when they live freely in the Savannah or jungle.

Of course it is a completely different situation if you're gonna feed them alive domestic pets.

 

5 hours ago, Old Croc said:

Where did that "flounce" come from? A common user of derogatory emojis are you, or have I upset you personally somewhere along the line? I dont remember, you're quite forgettable.

Nah nothing personal. I just find it pathetic how so many grown men on here get upset about emojis - always seeing people whinging about receiving a thumbs down, even making whole threads complaining. It is rather bizarre.

3 hours ago, Old Croc said:

Interesting.  

 

On our property we feed the pythons with my wife's prized chooks.put 

this boy loves chickens, put us out of business - 555

2 hours ago, placnx said:

Anyone who loves their pet would never donate their living little friend. Imagine the poor things in a holding pen waiting to be exterminated. Wouldn't recently deceased pets seem a more sensitive alternative?

"love" for a dead pet is as transient as it is for people or not?  Does love continue for any corpse ? 

Be it ashes or a grave site or tiger poop which physical entity holds evidence of prolonged value?

How recently would be acceptable?  

Deceased pet versus deceased feral or bred animal ?

Not one objection to captive animals needing regular feed?

 

 

 

11 hours ago, norfolkandchance said:

Mid 80's. A RAF Bomber Squadron based in Germany had a snake as its mascot. Once a week a different guy was sent down to the local pet shop to bring back live mice. Also had a sliding sign on the entrance, IN or Out.

When I was in Vietnam, one section of the Company had a pet boa constrictor, or similar snake.    The snake cage was near the movie theater screen. 

 

Movie night in the company was Tuesday night.   Guess when the bastards would throw a live chicken into the boa constrictors cage so it could eat!

No peep from the vegans?

17 hours ago, Gsxrnz said:

It's called recycling. 

It does come across as a bit morbid, but isn't it better than just euthanizing thousands of unwanted small animals every year and burying or cremating them?  I don't want the animals to feel the terror and sense the pain of being killed or stalked or torn apart.  Maybe dope them up in some way before?  Maybe Pre kill them quickly before feeding them? 

How about not putting big lions and tigers and bears and other animals in the zoos in the first place?  I hate to see them caged up in small areas.  They evolved to roam for miles and miles

Sounds like a good idea. They need to eat.

The reaction against it, deserves being addressed as ignorance 

15 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

Nah nothing personal. I just find it pathetic how so many grown men on here get upset about emojis - always seeing people whinging about receiving a thumbs down, even making whole threads complaining. It is rather bizarre.

The terms you used to describe me were very insulting and taken  personally.

I called out a completely anonomous poster for his pathetic lack of abiity to express an opinion in words. I wasn't upset and my growth stage had nothing to do with my action.

 

:Thou doth protest too much, methinks"