First it was Marius, the healthy two-year-old male giraffe at Copenhagen Zoo, who was euthanised with a bolt gun before being publicly cut up and fed to the carnivores at the zoo.
Now that same zoo is making headlines again, this time for euthanising two lions and two lion cubs.
The reason, Copenhagen Zoo explained, was that a new male lion posed a risk to the young lions.
“Because of the pride of lions’ natural structure and behavior, the zoo has had to euthanise the two old lions and two young lions, who were not old enough to fend for themselves,” the zoo said in a statement, which was published on Gawker.
According to Gawker, the zoo said they were unable to find new homes for the lions before the new, dominant male moved in.
The was no mention, however, of whether the lions could have, you know, been moved to another enclosure or something.
Top Comments
isnt a zoo meant to be primarily about conservation? im sorry but i dont get this, why breed them if you dont have room for them? disgusting lack of organisation and dare i say, a definate lack of humanity and heart.
When a new male takes over a pride in the wild he kills all the cubs so that he can be sure that his biological line is the only one that is continued. So the zoo are just replicating what happens in nature.
I'm sure this kind of thing happens at zoos all over the world. Maybe you could do an interview with Taronga Zoo and chat to them about what's happened and what the options were for the zoo in Copenhagen. I'd like an expert opinion rather than an emotional piece please.