Breed-to-feed in Zoos

[15399]

No responsible zoo would feed it's carnivores just "meat". They would always feed whole or partial carcasses. Many will also feed special kibbles, and some only kibbles.

Not entirely true. I'm not aware of a single zoo which exclusively feeds carcasses to its large carnivores. Carcass feeding is great, but it is always done as part of, not the entire, diet of an animal. I know of multiple zoos which feed carnivores using the meat blends found here: Nebraska Brand - PRODUCTS. Take this as you will, but I also know of at least one vet in an AZA accredited zoo who is opposed to carcass feeding due to the heightened disease risk, and I certainly wouldn't call him irresponsible. The big cats at that facility are still given bones weekly, albeit never carcasses.

Just to look at some of the AZA care manuals (found here: Animal Care Manuals | Association of Zoos & Aquariums), this is what I could find on carnivore diets. Notice that whole prey is suggested as part of, not the entire, diet:

Lion:

Commercially prepared meat mixes should be formulated to meet the nutrient needs specific to cats. As such, these products have the advantage of requiring no additional supplementation. However, soft diets provide little abrasion for good dental health and thus should be fed with whole prey, bones or carcass. Meat mixes have traditionally consisted of predominately horse or beef. More recently, pork products have become available (Watts, 2011).

Bones are recommended for abrasion for dental health and for enrichment, provided abnormal deleterious wear does not occur such as loss of enamel or damage to the teeth (Briggs & Scheels, 2005). Twice weekly feeding may favor more frequent plaque dislodgement and markedly reduced calculus formation and gingivitis (Haberstroh et al., 1983). Bones commonly fed to lions include: horse neck bones, horse tails, oxtails, knuckle bones, and femurs. Ribs bones are less common.

The AZA Nutrition Advisory Group only condones carcass feeding as part of a feeding program that ensures the diet of the animal is nutritionally balanced and free of pathogens

Tiger:

. Although often considered "enrichment" foods, bones and whole prey items offered weekly should be considered ingredients of diets. These items have potential to contribute substantial calories and additional nutrients to tiger diets and should be assessed appropriately.

Jaguar:

Managed jaguars can be maintained on diets consisting of commercially available meat mixes, whole prey, bones, carcasses, and muscle meat diets balanced with supplements. Some or all of these ingredients fed in combination should meet the target nutrient ranges

Bones are recommended to be provided for abrasion, for dental health, and for enrichment, provided abnormal deleterious wear such as loss of enamel or damage to the teeth does not occur (Briggs & Scheels, 2005). Broken and cracked teeth were the top health issue from a recent survey. Fifty-five percent of responding institutions reported this problem. It is not clear from the survey if these cases were associated with bone feeding. Providing bones twice weekly may favor more frequent plaque dislodgement and markedly reduced calculus formation and gingivitis (Haberstroh et al., 1983). As a comparative example, bones commonly fed to lions include: horse neck bones, horse tails, oxtails, knuckle bones and femurs. Rib bones are less common (AZA Lion Species Survival Plan, 2012.).

Polar Bear:
This one was part of a chart, so unable to add a quote, but it specifies that "meat from shank bone" should be 5-7% of total diet, and whole prey should be 0-2.5% of total diet.

Large Canids:

The primary dietary component for red wolves, gray wolves, and coyotes should consist of a nutritionally complete and balanced commercial domestic dog or wild canid product. Foods labeled as complete and balanced for domestic dogs should meet the standards established by AAFCO (American Association of Feed Control Officials). African wild dog and dhole are typically fed meat-based diets.

Supplemental feed items (e.g., prepared meats, bones, and carcasses) may be provided periodically, but should be limited to avoid interfering with the balanced composition of the principal diet. A good target is 90-95% base diet and 5-10% supplemental food enrichment (M. Griffin, personal communication).

Dholes are typically fed a nutritionally complete horse- or beef-based meat diet supplemented with bones and whole food items such as rabbit and guinea pigs. Whenever bones are fed to this group of species, they should be very large, such as beef or horse leg bones, or knuckle bones, as this will ensure the health of the animals as they gnaw, chew, and feed on them.

 

[Lafone]

At one time( 20 odd years ago )whole carcasses that came into zoos for carnivores, were stained in a safe blue dye which signified that the meat was not suitable for human consumption and that it had been supplied by a licensed supplier. Does this practice still apply today?

Appears to depend on the nature of the carcass according to the link on feeding animal by products in zoos. I've seen carcass parts with dye on in some places (feeding calves to the painted dogs at Chester for example) so I guess there is a whole load of guidance for zoos to follow.

Staining before feeding at zoos
If you take in whole carcasses to be cut up on-site before use as feed, they don’t need to be stained as category 1 before feeding.

You must only take in category 2 ABPs from collection centres or slaughterhouses if they’ve been stained with Black PN or Brilliant Black PN or an equivalent stain.

Treating specified risk material
Specified risk material (SRM - animal parts that carry a specific risk of disease, eg cows’ spinal cords) is a category 1 ABP.

If you collect whole carcasses containing SRM, you must:

• 
  
  
  • remove the SRM as soon as possible after opening the carcass
  • stain the surface of the SRM with a 0.5% w/v solution of Patent Blue (E131) dye

How to treat ABPs
You can treat ABPs by either staining them, or by sterilising them.

Staining
You can treat ABPs by staining with Black PN or Brilliant Black BN (E151).

The solution must be strong enough so the colouring is clearly visible and does not disappear when the ABPs are frozen or chilled.

The whole surface of all pieces of material must have been covered with the solution.

 

[LongNeckoo]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and opinion on this matter.

Think there is a thin line between farming the animals to be fed and using the surplus animals to be fed. End of the day i think it is just how to word it sometimes.

 

[OkapiJohn]

I suggest watching it.

In Germany, surplus animals used for carnivore feed are quite common.
No zoo will be self-sufficient regarding its meat sourcing (Unless of course, you have a prey-predator species ratio that favours prey species a lot, but that is rarely the case for an average zoo). While zoos will have always to buy meat from the outside world, the idea behind breed-and-feed is to take the opportunity to use animal carcasses from the zoo itself that otherwise would be waste. But no zoo will plan their animal breeding programmes aiming to "produce meat for our carnivores". Breed-and-feed is the future of breeding programmes in progressive zoos. Most breeding programmes of endangered species are reaching carrying capacity and the proportion of geriatric animals in zoo populations is on the rise (because there is no natural mortality and zoo animals have longer lifespans). The lack of space for breeding programmes is traditionally tackled by restricting reproduction. Lower reproduction rates mean that fewer younger animals are being recruited to replace the older ones. In the long term, this means the collapse of the entire population. Breed-and-feed may allow constant recruitment of young animals in the population.
Regarding guest education: Zoos should not be like Disneyland. True wildlife education is explaining (and even showing) guests that carnivores eat other animals, that they tear carcasses apart, that groups have eating hierarchies, etc. In the wild, populations are controlled by predation and disease, habitats have carrying capacities, etc. Death is part of nature as it is birth. Zoos should not create a narrative that death, suffering and disease do not exist inside of their walls. In my view, nowadays, the general public has a very romantic view of nature, where suffering and evil do not exist. I think it is a consequence of our urban societies that irrationally believe chickens grow in packages in the supermarket. If zoos try to sugar-coat things as natural as a lion eating a piece of zebra, because the public is too sensitive, they are not educating; they are just doing marketing.
P.S. I am not advocating the release of live prey animals inside predator enclosures (that should not be even part of this discussion, seriously). That makes no sense, is unethical and probably forbidden by most countries due to welfare standards.

 

[Jana]

I´m in full agreement with that whole text that @OkapiJohn just wrote.

 

[dillotest0]

Jaguar:

If anything I wonder with this one... surely horse meat would be most suitable for jaguar?
Given they are most closely related to tapirs

 

[OkapiJohn]

If anything I wonder with this one... surely horse meat would be most suitable for jaguar?
Given they are most closely related to tapirs

Tapir are browsers and fruit eaters. Horses are grazers. the diet of the animals is what is reflected in the meat quality/characteristics. Not the taxonomical proximity.

 

[filovirus]

i remember the controversy when Marius the giraffe was killed at Copenhagen Zoo: Giraffe Killing at Copenhagen Zoo Sparks Global Outrage

I was going to post discussing this exact story. I took a "hot button issues in animal science" debate course last year and this was something we discussed at one point- the ethics of doing this sort of thing.
I say this as someone who definitely has a more... relaxed-than-average view with regards to animal usage (doing live animal research will force you to reevaluate your morals)- I'm not wholly against breed-to-feed. If done safely and under the law, I don't see why it's an issue. I do think that it's a bit more disagreeable if it's an undomesticated species- say, antelope. Mostly, I think it'd be tricky to handle a breed-to-feed program with an undomesticated animal... much easier to do it with cows or pigs or the like.

I will say that I think a very important note with the case of Marius is that a great deal of the process was educational. He was euthanized privately, but his dissection was a public affair open for observation to guests. Dissections of any sort are generally hard to come by outside of educational settings. The dissection of a giraffe? I'd be chomping at the bit to get in. Such a thorough exploration of giraffe anatomy... it's a depth of learning that I don't think could be accomplished any other way. Marius' remains also weren't exclusively used for food. Seven research projects received samples from Marius, a rare opportunity.
FWIW it's my understanding that there are also perhaps cultural differences at play. The main animal rights group in Denmark supported the action of the zoo and public dissections are far from unheard of in the country. In the US at least I think anything involving dead things is much more taboo.

I think a lot of the general public is made uncomfortable by the premise of seeing their food- that is, uncomfortable at the notion that the animals we depend on for sustenance were once living, breathing creatures, ones with quirks and lives and personalities. "Breed to feed" implies, at least in my brain, that it's utilizing a species the zoo already has on hand and presumably on display. While I certainly don't agree with this viewpoint, I can understand why the general public would be disquieted by this- what separates the antelope they're watching roam around a field, or a goat approaching them in a petting zoo, from their food-fated brethren?