Copenhagen
zoo says it has euthanised two old lions and two cubs to make way for a new
male
The Guardian - AFP, Copenhagen, March 2014
Lions eating the remains of Marius the giraffe at Copenhagen zoo last month. Photograph: Gonzales Photo/Demotix/Corbis |
A Danish
zoo that prompted international outrage by putting down a healthy giraffe and
dissecting it in public has killed two lions and their two cubs to make way for
a new male.
"Because
of the pride of lions' natural structure and behaviour, the zoo has had to
euthanise the two old lions and two young lions who were not old enough to fend
for themselves," Copenhagen zoo said.
The
10-month-old lions would have been killed by the new male lion "as soon as
he got the chance", it said.
The four
lions were put down on Monday after the zoo failed to find a new home for them,
a spokesman said. All four were from the same family.
He said
there would be no public dissection of the animals since "not all our
animals are dissected in front of an audience".
Within a
few days the new male will be introduced to the zoo's two female lions, who
have reached breeding age.
The zoo's
chief executive, Steffen Straede, said: "The zoo is recognised worldwide
for our work with lions, and I am proud that one of the zoo's own brood now
forms the centre of a new pride of lions."
Last month
the zoo's scientific director, Bengt Holst, received death threats over the
decision to kill an 18-month-old giraffe, Marius, who was put down with a bolt
gun before children were allowed to watch his body being chopped up, dissected and fed to lions.
The move
shocked thousands of animal lovers around the world who had signed an online
petition to save him. The zoo said on its website it had no choice but to
prevent the animal attaining adulthood since under European Association of Zoos
and Aquaria rules inbreeding between giraffes is to be avoided.
Many Danes
were surprised and even angered by the international reaction to the event,
with a leading expert on the ethics of the treatment of animals decrying the
"Disneyfication" of zoo creatures.
No comments:
Post a Comment