Zoo urges people to donate their unwanted pets to feed their predators

bobcat

bobcat

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A zoo in Denmark has appealed to the public to donate small unwanted pets as food for its predators. In a post on social media, the zoo said it is trying to mimic the natural food chain of the predatory animals housed there. It assures the public that the animals will be gently euthanized, so they won't know what's happening.

My first reaction to this was disgust and judgment of having zero compassion. How could anyone who loves animals do this? However, it occurred to me that predators only eat meat that has to come from somewhere, and something has to die. Those of us who eat meat don't want to think of a cow or chicken being murdered for our benefit, but that's what happens. For us to have ham or bacon for breakfast, a pig has to be sacrificed.

In a zoo, pythons and tigers don't eat vegees, so how are they fed? Coupled with that reality is the heartbreaking one where 2.7 million animals are euthanized every year in the world. It's something every pet shelter has to face. Most animals are cremated, but some are buried.

I think our natural reaction to this would be one instigated by the gruesome visual image of it in our mind, but if we can get past that, does it make us a heartless person to even consider it, or to pretend that a small animal just falls out of the sky to feed the zoo predators? Sometimes reality is not pretty. I think it goes without saying that we should make every effort to find new homes for pets, but what do shelters do with too many animals and not enough homes. They have to make the difficult choice. Should this be an alternative?
 

There is a Wolf sanctuary in Missouri that is in league with the road dept to bring freshly killed animals to them instead of disposing of them. They do not talk, pet or stay in the pen when wolves eat, they want them to stay as wild as they need to be and not get used to being human fed. Those are not pets of course but in a sense people would understand that more.
But watching the show covering that sanctuary I can see where it would be useful, especially if you were having to take your pet or strays to a kill site anyway. Myself, if my pet had to be put down I would def have a vet do it, after that I am not sure. But you can't/aren't supposed to bury animals any longer on your property...so there's that issues also..what to do with it after.

Endangered Wolf Center | Conservation & Education St. Louis
 
IrishEyes said:
There is a Wolf sanctuary in Missouri that is in league with the road dept to bring freshly killed animals to them instead of disposing of them. They do not talk, pet or stay in the pen when wolves eat, they want them to stay as wild as they need to be and not get used to being human fed. Those are not pets of course but in a sense people would understand that more.
But watching the show covering that sanctuary I can see where it would be useful, especially if you were having to take your pet or strays to a kill site anyway. Myself, if my pet had to be put down I would def have a vet do it, after that I am not sure. But you can't/aren't supposed to bury animals any longer on your property...so there's that issues also..what to do with it after.

Endangered Wolf Center | Conservation & Education St. Louis
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Great point and link. I enjoyed watching the wolf pups.
Sure, why not use road kills instead of disposing of them.
It's just the nature of nature that every living thing has to consume another thing that is alive or was alive in order to survive.
Even plants need the compost of other previously living plants. Everything is just energy transfer.

I don't know whether we should have zoo's or not. We can't exactly ask the animals which they would prefer. If they are in the wild, they can be hunted, and even if on a preserve, they don't always stay there unless it's fenced. IDK, but I prefer animals in the wild, and just let nature unfold. Anyway, it's certainly thought provoking.
 
Pepper said:
Still hard to think about, yes why not use them for food, but still grossed out at the thought. The Donner Party. That's what this reminds me of.
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Yes, and the use of the word "party" in that context is quite disturbing. It's hard to imagine being in that nightmare scenario. Even if you lived through it, the PTSD would follow you forever. I'd prefer not to think about it.
 
I have a better idea...if the zoo can't afford to feed their caged animals the way they should be fed, then close and find other zoos that will take those animals.

I think this idea of donating your pets is insane. And, those that donate their pets should be banned from ever owning another animal!
 
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Pepper said:
Still hard to think about, yes why not use them for food, but still grossed out at the thought. The Donner Party. That's what this reminds me of.
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Yes, but the Donner party was eating it's own kind, not good practice. Cows being fed ground cows is how we got Mad Cow disease. This desire to feed small dogs and cats to lions and tigers is more like, humans eating chickens and pigs.
 
IrishEyes said:
There is a Wolf sanctuary in Missouri that is in league with the road dept to bring freshly killed animals to them instead of disposing of them.
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My first reaction was concern over the potential disease status of the road-killed animal. It seems that this practice could occasionally be a disease vector. But then on second thought, when predators take natural prey in the wild they run the same risk.
 
I used to have horses and ponies years ago. Have you ever personally heard a horse screaming from pain?
If not you never want to. My Tennessee Walker had a twisted intestine, laying there kicking, screaming fighting the pain. Called the vet and she was so severe he had to put her down. The body had to be taken away for a fee, in which the body went to a rendering plant for DOG MEAT, since she didn't die of disease. If you have livestock for pets too large to bury and hide (as it is illegal) then this is the route you have to go.
So to me something in these cases what difference does it make what type of animal is it going to be feed for? I think I would have chosen a zoo for her since they were not going to profit off my loss.
 
Gemma said:
I think this idea of donating your pets is insane. And, those that donate their pets should be banned from ever owning another animal!
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Oh I don't know. Years ago when we lived in London there was a yapping canine that barked incessently. One neighbour thought that it might make a hot dog for a local zoo.
 
Kind of interesting how people think when it comes to animals. The Zoo isn't asking for loved pets it's asking for unwanted animals. Maybe changing the wording to unwanted animals would make a difference in how this is thought about.

For sure PETA has thoughts about how kids in 4-H programs raise animals as pets until time to sell for human consumption. Then there is this. Research shines a light on challenges facing pets today
New research shows the global scale of pet homelessness, estimating there are almost 362 million homeless cats and dogs across 20 countries studied.
https://www.mars.com/news-and-stori...s the global,ambition to end pet homelessness.

That as a mental picture of animals starving wandering in the street doesn't exactly portray humans as caring for Pets. I'll probably catch flack about this. I don't think the Zoo is wrong for looking at unwanted animals as food.
 
horseless carriage said:
Oh I don't know. Years ago when we lived in London there was a yapping canine that barked incessently. One neighbour thought that it might make a hot dog for a local zoo.
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Gemma said:
I have a better idea...if the zoo can't afford to feed their caged animals the way they should be fed, then close and find other zoos that will take those animals.

I think this idea of donating your pets is insane. And, those that donate their pets should be banned from ever owning another animal!
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An animal that was yet alive...I do agree with you there. I doubt seriously I would a dog or cat of mine.
 
Knight said:
Kind of interesting how people think when it comes to animals. The Zoo isn't asking for loved pets it's asking for unwanted animals. Maybe changing the wording to unwanted animals would make a difference in how this is thought about.

For sure PETA has thoughts about how kids in 4-H programs raise animals as pets until time to sell for human consumption. Then there is this. Research shines a light on challenges facing pets today
New research shows the global scale of pet homelessness, estimating there are almost 362 million homeless cats and dogs across 20 countries studied.
https://www.mars.com/news-and-stories/press-releases-statements/pet-homelessness#:~:text=New research shows the global,ambition to end pet homelessness.

That as a mental picture of animals starving wandering in the street doesn't exactly portray humans as caring for Pets. I'll probably catch flack about this. I don't think the Zoo is wrong for looking at unwanted animals as food.
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I have seen herds of deer here in the winter when deer season was not a good one for hunters. Deer out in fields very near roads up to 75 trying to find food in a harvested corn field, thin and weak, that is not a pretty sight either.
 
It would feel like a betrayal to donate a pet, though, once my friend's kids let their pet rats have free time together and they wound up with 13 pet rats, so in that situation I might be tempted (probably not if I'd ever had a pet rat, but I think of rats as barn pests).
 
Knight said:
Kind of interesting how people think when it comes to animals. The Zoo isn't asking for loved pets it's asking for unwanted animals. Maybe changing the wording to unwanted animals would make a difference in how this is thought about.

For sure PETA has thoughts about how kids in 4-H programs raise animals as pets until time to sell for human consumption. Then there is this. Research shines a light on challenges facing pets today
New research shows the global scale of pet homelessness, estimating there are almost 362 million homeless cats and dogs across 20 countries studied.
https://www.mars.com/news-and-stories/press-releases-statements/pet-homelessness#:~:text=New research shows the global,ambition to end pet homelessness.

That as a mental picture of animals starving wandering in the street doesn't exactly portray humans as caring for Pets. I'll probably catch flack about this. I don't think the Zoo is wrong for looking at unwanted animals as food.
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"Unwanted animals".
What's next? Unwanted children?
Even asking for unwanted animals is insane.
 

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