Aalborg Zoo’s feeding policy sparks debate over predator diets

Aalborg Zoo’s pet donation programme, which allows people to hand over healthy small pets to be “gently euthanised” and fed to predators, has drawn reactions from around the world. Supporters say it offers a practical food supply for carnivores in captivity, while critics see it as an unsettling approach to animal welfare.

The zoo’s appeal, posted on social media, invited owners of chickens, rabbits, and guinea pigs needing to be put down to donate them rather than have them disposed of elsewhere. Aalborg Zoo said this would ensure the animals’ meat was not wasted and would contribute to the natural diet and enrichment of predators such as the Eurasian lynx, a species it keeps on site.

Marcus Clauss, co-director of the Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife at the University of Zurich, said the practice reflected the unavoidable reality of keeping carnivores in human care. “If you accept the fact that you have carnivores in human care, either as a pet or as a zoo, you will agree to the fact that you feed them animal matter. There is no other choice,” he said, pointing to vegan dog food as one of the few exceptions.

However, some critics questioned both the ethics and the wording of the appeal. Dan Ashe, president of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, said the use of the word “pet” may have caused unnecessary public shock. While similar practices are not prohibited under US accreditation standards, he said he would not expect to see them used in North American zoos.

The debate touches on a wider reality of zoo management: many facilities already practise carcass feeding, sometimes sourcing meat from roadkill or livestock. The Denver Zoo has even held public demonstrations where visitors could watch lions eat pig carcasses, though these events are always announced in advance to allow guests to opt out.

In Denmark, public outrage over animal management is not new. In 2014, Copenhagen Zoo sparked international protests when it euthanised an 18-month-old giraffe and fed some of the meat to its lions. More recently, Germany’s Nuremberg Zoo confirmed it had culled six Guinea baboons due to overcrowding, later using their meat to feed carnivores including tigers and maned wolves.

Animal welfare experts have raised concerns about the Aalborg Zoo pet donation scheme. Clifford Warwick, a UK-based consultant biologist, said the appeal risked devaluing pets and could not guarantee humane euthanasia methods that kept the meat safe for predator consumption. “Lynx don’t eat guinea pigs in the wild,” he said. “They might eat similar-sized mammals, but that doesn’t make it a natural behaviour.”

With animal shelters facing rising intake numbers worldwide, the discussion is unlikely to fade soon. For some, the zoo’s approach is a blunt but honest solution to feeding carnivores; for others, it crosses a moral line.

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