Zoo in Denmark asks to donate live pets to be fed by predators (also accepts horses)

Aalborg’s zoo in Denmark ended up in the spotlight for a chilling request: the invitation to citizens to donate live pets to be used as a fodder for predators hosted in the structure. The campaign mainly concerns chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs, considered essential in the diet of some species.

It is aimed at reproducing the natural food chain

According to the zoo, the goal is to reproduce the natural food chain to ensure animal welfare and keep professional integrity high. In controlled environments such as zoo, the possibility of hunting does not exist: for this reason, offering intact prey is considered an effective method to stimulate predatory instinct and encourage the psychophysical balance of carnivorous species.

But the problem is precisely this: the zoo are not original habitats, but artificial spaces, with barriers, visit times and animals far from their evolutionary context. Trying to reconstruct predatory dynamics within a fence only underlines the forcing of the entire zoological system. The predator is not free, the prey is selected and transported to the cage and the “natural” behavior is only an imitation that serves more to the public than to animals.

Cavalli donation is also accepted

The case made itself even more controversial when the zoo, through a press release on its site, announced that it also accepts the donation of live horses. With certain conditions – including small dimensions (maximum 147 cm at the Garrese), the absence of diseases and the presence of the equine passport – the horses can be delivered directly to the zoo. After the arrival, the animal is knocked down and slaughtered by qualified personnel. The owner has the right to a tax deduction calculated according to the weight of the horse.

The storm on social media and the closure of the comments

As expected, the initiative has aroused a strong public reaction. The zoo closed the comments section of the original post, due to the avalanche of accused messages, while maintaining the availability for email dialogue open. The criticisms focused on the ethical aspect of accepting that affectionate and domestic animals can be used as simple protein sources.

The debate touches a deep knot: to what extent it is right to go to respect the natural needs of a predator who, we remember, live all our life in captivity? If on the one hand we speak of sustainability and respect for animal instincts, on the other you cannot pretend not to see the wrong message that passes on the enhancement of life. A question that divides, but that undoubtedly invites us to reflect.

This story reopens a fundamental question: what sense do zoos mean? Born to entertain, then justified by educational or conservative purposes, today they show their limits more and more. Attempting for a forced “naturalization” risks becoming an aesthetic and hypocritical operation, in which animal freedom always remains the great absent. After all, if we really cared about the natural behavior of the animals, perhaps the solution would not be to offer them a living guinea pig … but let them live free.

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