Danish zoo asks people to donate small animals to feed its predators

A zoo in Denmark has divided public opinion after issuing an unusual appeal on Facebook for people to donate unwanted animals to be used as food for its predators.

The zoo said online that those who own "a healthy animal that needs to be given away for various reasons (should) feel free to donate it to us." People were advised to bring a maximum of four small animals at a time.

The post on social media said the zoo was looking for guinea pigs, rabbits, chickens and potentially horses as possible donations. After being "gently euthanised" by trained staff, the animals will be fed to the zoo's carnivores.

The zoo explained that such animals are "an important part of the diet of our predators — especially the European lynx, which needs whole prey that resembles what it would naturally hunt in the wild."

“That way, nothing goes to waste — and we ensure natural behaviour, nutrition and well-being of our predators,” the zoo said.

To discover more, pet owners were told to click on a link accompanied by a picture of a wildcat baring its teeth with its mouth wide open. The zoo remained open to receiving horses, it said, but "needs vary throughout the year and there may be a waiting list."

Horses donated to the scheme should have a passport, and the donation comes with the opportunity for a tax deduction based on the animal's value — which is calculated by its weight.

Zoologist Thea Loumand Faddersbøll said the horses “come from private individuals, and then when they are either injured, old or just in excess, and they cannot get rid of them — they come to us.”

The appeal sparked backlash in comments online, with people protesting the idea that healthy pets would be used as prey. Others defended the zoo for trying to preserve feeding behaviours found in the wild.

The facility's chief zoologist, Anette Sofie Warncke Nutzhorn, said there was "nothing new" to the practice. "We've always done it, and we see it as very natural to do it this way," she said, adding that people rarely donate dogs and cats.

"I'd rather donate them to something like this than put them in the ground where the meat goes to waste."

It's not the first time Denmark's zoos have come under scrutiny. In 2014, a zoo in Copenhagen caused an outcry after it killed a healthy two-year-old giraffe named Marius to avoid inbreeding despite an online petition against it.

Its carcass was partly used for research and partly fed to a crowd of tigers, lions and leopards on the zoo's grounds.

Last week, a zoo in the German city of Nürnberg sparked uproar after it killed 12 baboons despite protests against it by numerous animal rights groups.