Zoo Kills Young Giraffe, Invites Children to Watch It Be Chopped Up, Fed to Lion

[Syt]

I've been to Hagenbeck in Hamburg, which pioneered cageless enclosures and Schönbrunn which has turned from one of the worst zoos to one of the best in Europe.

And I've been to an Aquarium in Wilmington, NC.

[grumbler]

The Guardian said other zoos offered to take the giraffe. This caused a lot of outrage on the British part of the internet. A lot.

First of all, it's the Guardian.

Second, the Danish zoo didn't own the animal, and so couldn't send it to any zoo that wanted it.  The only zoos that were also part of the group that owned the animals already had giraffes that were from this bloodline.

Third, the Brits are always willing to get more wound up by the death of an animal even more than they do over the death of a person.  That's just the way the Brits are about animals.

[celedhring]

These sacrifices are actually far more common than people might think. This one only had the added publicity of the children witnessing it and the resulting outrage. DNA diversity is a big deal in modern zoos - they see themselves more as a repository of animal DNA than a weekend entertainment for families. 

It may look cold from the outside, but we're talking a scenario with limited space and resources for a lot of animals, so an animal with over-represented DNA is taking the place of another one that might be more useful for the long-term survival of the entire species. And it's not like that lion wouldn't have been fed some cow otherwise.

[Neil]

The Copenhagen Zoo said it "euthanized" Marius to avoid inbreeding.

Here's a novel idea:  don't let him fuck.  What, giraffes can't be neutered or something?  Goddamn.

if we just sterilize him, he will take up space for more genetically valuable giraffes

A noble sentiment, no?

Apparently they don't sterilize animals there because of the behavioural issues.

And yes, these are animals.  Their worth is determined by their value to people.

[Neil]

Actually, on reflection, it would probably be cheaper to just buy the bonobos and chimpanzees and relocate them in one of the cleared districts of Florida.

Without regard for the local ecosystem?

Typical.  I knew your love for animals was weak and without deep thought.

1)The impact would be almost invisible.  Pan occupies no special place in the ecological framework; for one thing, there are only about 250,000 of them.  It's like arguing the city of Dresden had an important role to play in the ecology of Germany.
2)The members of Pan, as basically sapient animals, are more valuable than any animals or plants who depend upon their existence for sustenance (of which I believe there are none).

I'm talking about the ecology of Florida.

Besides, they're not sapient enough.

[Eddie Teach]

The alligators will enjoy their company, I'm sure.

[Legbiter]

Apparently they don't sterilize animals there because of the behavioural issues.

And yes, these are animals.  Their worth is determined by their value to people.

Surplus males are expendable, if he had been a she, the giraffe would still be a valuable addition to the population. As it is, his genes are well represented in that regard.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

I can also make a hat out of a newspaper.

Can you make a broach?  Can you make a pterodactyl?

[Syt]

http://www.der-postillon.com/2014/02/herzlos-bauer-will-muhende-kurzhals.html

"Heartless - German farmer wants to kill mooing, short-necked giraffe and feed it to humans!"

[Liep]

[OttoVonBismarck]

As a hunter I'm not prone to really accept the concept of "rights" for animals in the first place and am as anti-PETA as it gets, I just assumed this was a common/accepted practice and the reality of managing a herd (or whatever you call it) of giraffes. I will admit to being wholly unwilling to explore the issue independently, but my stance changed a bit as I read a few articles here where American zookeepers said that not only is the practice not practiced by any American zoo, that to their knowledge it's never been practiced by European zoos they have associations with, and went on to say they believe this is the first instance they've heard of where a healthy male giraffe was euthanized for a reason like this in any Western zoo. That makes it sound more likely that the Copenhagen Zoo is not in fact acting in accordance with norms of modern zoos. Which doesn't affect or concern me, but if I was say, Danish or something I might wonder why our zoo isn't operating like a normal zoo which (again, just based on my morning reading) typically has an obligation to rehome unwanted animals unless there is a compelling reason not to do so.

[Razgovory]

I can also make a hat out of a newspaper.

Can you make a broach?  Can you make a pterodactyl?

To be honest, the I'm using a fairly loose definition of "hat" as it is.

[grumbler]

The Copenhagen Zoo has done this before (they cull 25 animals a year, according to a non-scholarly About.com article http://endangeredspecies.about.com/od/endangeredspeciesconflicts/a/Euthanasia-In-Zoos.htm

Veteran zookeeper Peter Dickenson wrote an article about this four years ago: http://zoonewsdigest.blogspot.com/2010/11/good-zoo-and-euthanasia.html

Time magazine talks about how common this is, as well: http://world.time.com/2014/02/10/marius-the-giraffe-not-the-only-animal-zoos-have-culled/.  the article refers to several examples of zoos all over Europe culling healthy animals.

I suppose that it is possible that Otto's un-named "experts" simply are unaware of what is actually happening in zoos, but I suspect that he is either not looking at real experts, or not understanding what he is reading.  the Copenhagen Zoo's ethics board looked at this decision and approved it; they would seem to be far more expert than some random internet dudes.

Now, one can argue the ethics of allowing this giraffe to even be born, knowing that it would be surplus and have to be euthanized.  There are arguments for and against.  But there isn't any evidence that the Copenhagen Zoo did anything that was contrary to normal zoo practices, other than, perhaps, act in a more open manner than zoos usually do in cases like this.

[Razgovory]

The hook is baited.

[The Brain]

they see themselves more as a repository of animal DNA than a weekend entertainment for families. 

Me too!