From: Auric Hellman <adhellman1@gmail.com>
Newsgroups: misc.news.internet.discuss,talk.politics.misc,can.politics
Subject: A zoo in Denmark asked patrons to donate their pets. Not as attractions, but for food
Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2025 16:48:37 -0500
Organization: www.aaup.org
A European zoo stirred up intrigue and controversy after a social media
post asking for surplus pets to be donated to feed captive animals went
viral.
In a post on Facebook, the Aalborg Zoo in Denmark asked people to donate
unwanted pets that would be "gently euthanized" and fed to predators in
captivity.
"Chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs form an important part of the diet of
our predators â especially the European lynx, which needs whole prey
that resembles what it would naturally hunt in the wild," the zoo wrote.
"In zoos we have a responsibility to imitate the natural food chain of
the animals - in terms of both animal welfare and professional
integrity," the post continued. "That way, nothing goes to waste - and
we ensure natural behavior, nutrition and well-being of our predators."
The zoo also accepts horses as part of its fodder program.
The Facebook post quickly became a battleground between commenters who
were appalled at the concept of euthanizing healthy pets for animal
feed, and those who applauded the zoo for its method of maintaining a
practical food supply for its animals.
Much of the umbrage directed toward the zoo seemed to stem from the use
of the word "pets" to refer to the animals, which called to mind the
image of well-loved lapdogs being sent alive into a literal lions' den.
"This is a joke right," one enraged commenter wrote. "No one would bring
his healthy pet to a zoo so they can kill it and feed it to their animals."
"In Denmark, this practice is common"
The Aalborg Zoo says dogs and cats are excluded from the program.
Donatable animals are limited to chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs, and
horses, it says, adding that this is a practice it has maintained with
patrons for years.
"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," zoo Deputy Director Pia Nielsen said in a statement to NPR.
https://www.npr.org/2025/08/06/nx-s1-5493363/denmark-zoo-donate-pets-feeding-animals
Is this what they call "survival of the fittest"?
--
ADH
adhellman1@gmail.com