Denmark zoo asks people to donate unwanted pets

Eddie Seb said:
I just learned about this today.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/08/04/europe/denmark-aalborg-zoo-pets-predators-intl-hnk

"A zoo in northern Denmark is asking pet owners to donate their unwanted guinea pigs, rabbits, chickens and even small horses – not to put them on display but to feed them to the zoo’s predators"

Yes, they euthanise the pets before having the predators eat them.

Thoughts?
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In New Zealand/Australia, the carnivores are routinely fed horse meat, goats, chickens (usually day old chicks) and rabbits as part of their diet. Zoos usually obtain these via a supplier; but I’ve seen some of the private zoos put out requests for surplus stock from farms etc.

The stock is killed humanely,
 
This surely opens a can of worms. However, I have mixed feelings about it.
It is certainly a creative solution to take care of their carnivores.
On the other hand, I don't think I could donate one of my cats, even though I have euthanized a few over the years because of illnesses.
Don't people purchase live mice or rats to feed their snakes?
Guinea Pig is just a large rodent, is it not?
The animals mention are naturally prey species.
I always wondered why zoos don't feed fresh road kill to their animals. At least around here, we have Deer, Dogs. Coyotes, Bears, Rabbits, Raccoons, Opossums killed along the roads every day.
 
Mr. Bobcat said:
This surely opens a can of worms. However, I have mixed feelings about it.
It is certainly a creative solution to take care of their carnivores.
On the other hand, I don't think I could donate one of my cats, even though I have euthanized a few over the years because of illnesses.
Don't people purchase live mice or rats to feed their snakes?
Guinea Pig is just a large rodent, is it not?
The animals mention are naturally prey species.
I always wondered why zoos don't feed fresh road kill to their animals. At least around here, we have Deer, Dogs. Coyotes, Bears, Rabbits, Raccoons, Opossums killed along the roads every day.
Click to expand...
I'd imagine zoos don't feed roadkill or wild animals to zoo animals because these wild animals can carry disease or parasites.
 
Somehow guinea pig stands out to me as something visitors may be taken aback by more than any other prey… perhaps because of how aesthetically they have been bred compared to most rabbits or other small pets

At least, they are certainly much fluffier and more variegated than wild guinea pigs
 
Mr. Bobcat said:
On the other hand, I don't think I could donate one of my cats
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They aren't asking people to donate their domestic cats -Or dogs, for that matter!-, though.

Mr. Bobcat said:
Don't people purchase live mice or rats to feed their snakes?
Click to expand...

That's not best practice and admitting to live feeding -Without a justifiable reason, such as a owning a snake that simply won't take pre-killed prey and would starve itself to death otherwise. Even then, the expectation would be that the live feeder animal would be at least stunned beforehand and that you're actively working to wean your snake off of live prey and onto pre-killed prey in the meanwhile- would get you scolded by the reptile community at best.
 
EliasNys said:
I'd imagine zoos don't feed roadkill or wild animals to zoo animals because these wild animals can carry disease or parasites.
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I've heard of facilities that do feed roadkill -As long as it's reasonably... freshly killed and relatively intact- but it's considered best practice to keep the "donations" in the deep freeze for at least a month.

That takes care of the majority of disease and parasitic concerns. Although there's always a risk.
 
Eddie Seb said:
I just learned about this today.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/08/04/europe/denmark-aalborg-zoo-pets-predators-intl-hnk

"A zoo in northern Denmark is asking pet owners to donate their unwanted guinea pigs, rabbits, chickens and even small horses – not to put them on display but to feed them to the zoo’s predators"

Yes, they euthanise the pets before having the predators eat them.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

The wider issue is why people have pets (extending that to horses) they don't want and can't care for. People shouldn't have animals in the first place if they are not able to look after them, whether they abandon them, put them in for rehoming or donate them to a zoo the number of genuine people who can't care for an animal due to a change in circumstances is tiny in comparison to the number who get a guinea pig or a rabbit or whatever and then simply can't be bothered with them.Do I think they should be donated to a zoo, no I don't think people should have them in the first place. Giving people easy ways to get rid of pets just encourages lax ownership.

I really do sympathise with anyone giving up a pet due to becoming unable to take care of it but I expect they won't be 'donating' via this means to have it killed anyway. In my experience most people who are forced to give up their pets want them to have a life they cannot give them, not turn them into lunch.

It's really a sad verdict on how careless people are. If there is a 'reality' of a surplus then making it simpler to dispose of those animals is, in my view, not a good solution at all. Cheap for the zoo of course and you can't blame them for exploiting the problem. But hardly welfare focused in the scheme of things.

It is said (though it is anecdotal) that people used to be able to get free entry to the menagerie in London in the 18th century if they took along a dog or cat to throw to the carnivores. Look how far we have come even in sentiment. Perhaps the zoo could do a % off a ticket per guinea pig and get the visitor numbers up.
 
Mr. Bobcat said:
This surely opens a can of worms. However, I have mixed feelings about it.
It is certainly a creative solution to take care of their carnivores.
On the other hand, I don't think I could donate one of my cats, even though I have euthanized a few over the years because of illnesses.
Don't people purchase live mice or rats to feed their snakes?
Guinea Pig is just a large rodent, is it not?
The animals mention are naturally prey species.
I always wondered why zoos don't feed fresh road kill to their animals. At least around here, we have Deer, Dogs. Coyotes, Bears, Rabbits, Raccoons, Opossums killed along the roads every day.
Click to expand...

One of the reasons they won't ask for dogs and cats is that the public would probably expect them to be euthanised in the same way they would be at the vets; via an overdose of appropriate sedative drugs. But that cannot happen as the drugs can't go into food (hence the note on exclusion for donation for any animal under vet treatment).

So they would have to strangle the dogs and cats, break their necks using extension ropes like rabbits, or gas them / use an electric stun plate or hanging device to stun them then stick them to bleed them out. Of course they are alive at that point.

The keepers might not fancy doing it in the first place and once pictures of it got into the press (or videos, the sound effects of dogs waiting to be stunned or hanging up to have their throats cut wouldn't play well and might invoke images of the slaughter and consumption of dogs for human food which some people in the West seem to draw the line at) the zoo probably wouldn't be too popular. So in at least this first phase they would probably stay away from what many people would regard as 'real' pets.
 
There are many misconceptions about this being reported. The zoo did not ask for just any unwanted pet (they also themselves didn't even use the word for pets). They specifically mentioned chickens, guinea pics and rabbits, as well as horses. They also never stated they wanted "unwanted" animals, but rather animals that were already going to be put down for various reasons. The zoo will then euthanize the animals, and make sure they are not sick before feeding them to the zoo animals.

Dogs and cats have also been mentioned a lot, by people debating the topic, but those are not animals that the zoo accept. From an article talking about the post getting so much attention from abroad, the zoo says: "We don't accept dogs and cats. Predators don't really eat predators, but instead prey animals, which is why those are the ones we focus on getting". Another news site also reported exactly which animals they have recieved so far this year which just included horses, rabbits, chickens, guinea pigs as well as trouts.

Another misconception is that this is something new the zoo is doing. In many Danish zoos it's common to ask people to donate animals that are already going to be put down, to use as feed for the animals. The zoos prefer feeding whole animals (or larger bits), as there are many benefits and it reflects more natural behavior in the animals. Zoos will also feed their carnivores giraffes and zebras that have been euthanized.

I think most of the outrage about this is based on misunderstandings of what the zoo is actually asking, and I would be surprised if this entire thing is unique to Danish zoos. The carnivores need to eat, why not let them have animals that were already going to be put down?
 
GamerGorilla said:
There are many misconceptions about this being reported. The zoo did not ask for just any unwanted pet (they also themselves didn't even use the word for pets). They specifically mentioned chickens, guinea pics and rabbits, as well as horses. They also never stated they wanted "unwanted" animals, but rather animals that were already going to be put down for various reasons. The zoo will then euthanize the animals, and make sure they are not sick before feeding them to the zoo animals.

Dogs and cats have also been mentioned a lot, by people debating the topic, but those are not animals that the zoo accept. From an article talking about the post getting so much attention from abroad, the zoo says: "We don't accept dogs and cats. Predators don't really eat predators, but instead prey animals, which is why those are the ones we focus on getting". Another news site also reported exactly which animals they have recieved so far this year which just included horses, rabbits, chickens, guinea pigs as well as trouts.

Another misconception is that this is something new the zoo is doing. In many Danish zoos it's common to ask people to donate animals that are already going to be put down, to use as feed for the animals. The zoos prefer feeding whole animals (or larger bits), as there are many benefits and it reflects more natural behavior in the animals. Zoos will also feed their carnivores giraffes and zebras that have been euthanized.

I think most of the outrage about this is based on misunderstandings of what the zoo is actually asking, and I would be surprised if this entire thing is unique to Danish zoos. The carnivores need to eat, why not let them have animals that were already going to be put down?
Click to expand...

Useful links, but these animals are not all terminally ill or simply awaiting the end.

From the link

Many people come with baby rabbits because they have had so many, and rabbits are so pregnant that they often have many babies, says the zoo's zoologist Thea Loumand Faddersbøll.

Those are not animals that should be being bred to be put down, that's simply carelessness, ignorance or negligence on the part of the owner.

The zoo itself also acknowledges donations are at least partly due to boredom with the pet concerned.

There are also many who lose interest in their pets, and then we can get people out of misery, says director of Aalborg Zoo, Henrik Vester Skov Johansen.

This just encourages negligent pet ownership and while no one can blame the zoo for exploiting it to save money, it is not all kindliness based on the inevitable.

As for 'outrage' I don't see much in this thread. People can't have a legitimate concern about anything these days without being labelled as extreme.
 
Lafone said:
One of the reasons they won't ask for dogs and cats is that the public would probably expect them to be euthanised in the same way they would be at the vets; via an overdose of appropriate sedative drugs. But that cannot happen as the drugs can't go into food (hence the note on exclusion for donation for any animal under vet treatment).

So they would have to strangle the dogs and cats, break their necks using extension ropes like rabbits, or gas them / use an electric stun plate or hanging device to stun them then stick them to bleed them out. Of course they are alive at that point.

The keepers might not fancy doing it in the first place and once pictures of it got into the press (or videos, the sound effects of dogs waiting to be stunned or hanging up to have their throats cut wouldn't play well and might invoke images of the slaughter and consumption of dogs for human food which some people in the West seem to draw the line at) the zoo probably wouldn't be too popular. So in at least this first phase they would probably stay away from what many people would regard as 'real' pets.
Click to expand...

Well that, plus feeding carnivores their fellow carnivores is just asking for a mass disease outbreak.
 
Lafone said:
Useful links, but these animals are not all terminally ill or simply awaiting the end.

From the link

Many people come with baby rabbits because they have had so many, and rabbits are so pregnant that they often have many babies, says the zoo's zoologist Thea Loumand Faddersbøll.

Those are not animals that should be being bred to be put down, that's simply carelessness, ignorance or negligence on the part of the owner.

The zoo itself also acknowledges donations are at least partly due to boredom with the pet concerned.

There are also many who lose interest in their pets, and then we can get people out of misery, says director of Aalborg Zoo, Henrik Vester Skov Johansen.

This just encourages negligent pet ownership and while no one can blame the zoo for exploiting it to save money, it is not all kindliness based on the inevitable.

As for 'outrage' I don't see much in this thread. People can't have a legitimate concern about anything these days without being labelled as extreme.
Click to expand...

I really don't see how it encorage negligent pet ownership. People don't benefit from giving their animals to the zoo, only the horse provides a tax deduction as far as I can see.I do agree that there are people that get pets that are not qualified for it, but the zoo animals do have to eat. I don't see a difference than using someone's pet rabbit instead of a rabbit that was specifically bred to be slaughtered.
 
GamerGorilla said:
I really don't see how it encorage negligent pet ownership. People don't benefit from giving their animals to the zoo, only the horse provides a tax deduction as far as I can see.I do agree that there are people that get pets that are not qualified for it, but the zoo animals do have to eat. I don't see a difference than using someone's pet rabbit instead of a rabbit that was specifically bred to be slaughtered.
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And as you don't see the difference, it's a bit of a pointless discussion. Nothing really matters I suppose. However I do think there is a difference in terms of what these animals are acquired for and how careless and negligent people are when considering owning an animal (and don't care what happens to it) so there we are. Anyway, people do benefit (convenience, cost, among other things) and these animals should not be in a position to be donated in the first place.
 
Well, I guess as others have already pointed out, this is normal in Denmark, but on a first read, I don´t find it appropiate or aceptable. Apart of maybe someone who owns chickens that stop laying eggs or similar situation, it sounds like they are asking exactly for people who got tired of their pets and want to get ride of them. If animals under vet treatment are not useful, then, that means they only can accept healthy ones, or old but with enough quality of life to don´t need meds. Precisely the animals than any responsible owner wouldn´t put to sleep...

To me this reduce animals to the category of objects, and don´t make any good to the image of zoos. Probably not in Denmark, but I can see the anticap movement rubbing their hands with this new.
 
Wisp O' Mist said:
They aren't asking people to donate their domestic cats -Or dogs, for that matter!-, though.



That's not best practice and admitting to live feeding -Without a justifiable reason, such as a owning a snake that simply won't take pre-killed prey and would starve itself to death otherwise. Even then, the expectation would be that the live feeder animal would be at least stunned beforehand and that you're actively working to wean your snake off of live prey and onto pre-killed prey in the meanwhile- would get you scolded by the reptile community at best.
Click to expand...

Yes, I understand, I was just using an analogy.
I have seen where lions, leopards, tigers eating prey for many days.
Wouldn't that have the same chance of disease too?
I read they have incredibly robust digestive system.
Also a lot of birds of prey, especially Vultures, can eat carrion with no problem.
Hyenas too would fit into that category.
I wouldn't think eating fresh road kill wouldn't be dangerous to most wild predators.
 
Mr. Bobcat said:
Yes, I understand, I was just using an analogy.
I have seen where lions, leopards, tigers eating prey for many days.
Wouldn't that have the same chance of disease too?
I read they have incredibly robust digestive system.
Also a lot of birds of prey, especially Vultures, can eat carrion with no problem.
Hyenas too would fit into that category.
I wouldn't think eating fresh road kill wouldn't be dangerous to most wild predators.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you're trying to say in this reply.
 
It's no different to sending your horse to hunt kennels to be shot and fed to the hounds. I'd never send an animal there (to a zoo or hunt kennels) because I would never have an animal of mine euthanised in an unfamiliar environment, but this does provide an option for people struggling financially and who have horses who, for their own welfare, are better off PTS than attempted to be rehomed.

But I agree with others that the tone of zoo director, "if you're bored of your pet, just get it killed", is totally inappropriate and promoting a very poor attitude to pet keeping.
 
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