Zoo Kills 'Unwanted' Giraffe

[Mr Crunchy]

I wish the zoo had just sterilized the giraffe if they didn't want him to breed. I suppose Marius died an easier death than many animals on the Serengeti (animals as big as he was often die hard), and no harder than an animal in a slaughterhouse, but if the zoo cares about the animals on their property they should treat them a lot better than this.

According to one of the articles:

"Copenhagen Zoo doesn’t give giraffes contraceptives or castrate them because that could have unwanted side effects on their internal organs"

Hopefully, some people will make the connection and apply the emotions felt for the giraffe to other animals. I mean, just what exactly do they think the Zoo feeds the lions when they don't have any giraffe meat?

 

[Amy SF]

According to one of the articles:

"Copenhagen Zoo doesn’t give giraffes contraceptives or castrate them because that could have unwanted side effects on their internal organs"

Hopefully, some people will make the connection and apply the emotions felt for the giraffe to other animals. I mean, just what exactly do they think the Zoo feeds the lions when they don't have any giraffe meat?

That seems inconsistent. or disingenuous. If they don't sterilize the animals, they end up with unwanted offspring, which they then have to kill. They don't want to harm the animals' internal organs, but they're okay with killing their offspring, and in such a barbaric manner?

 

[Calliegirl]

I saw a comment on one of the articles from a Danish citizen who said the babies bring in the crowds. That may be the real reason for not sterilizing them.

 

[Clueless Git]

That seems inconsistent. or disingenuous. If they don't sterilize the animals, they end up with unwanted offspring, which they then have to kill. They don't want to harm the animals' internal organs, but they're okay with killing their offspring, and in such a barbaric manner?

It is totaly consistent with 'product/asset' handling, Amy.

You don't damage 'viable' product/asset.

You sell or 'recycle' or dispose of excess product/asset in the most cost effective legal way.

 

[Clueless Git]

I mean, just what exactly do they think the Zoo feeds the lions when they don't have any giraffe meat?

People who ignore the 'Keep all windows closed and do not leave your vehicle whilst in the enclosure under any circumstances' warning signs.

 

[Mischief]

I saw a comment on one of the articles from a Danish citizen who said the babies bring in the crowds. That may be the real reason for not sterilizing them.

I would suspect you are correct.

The day of the killing, an official from the Copenhagen zoo was interviewed on NPR. When asked why they didn't simply sterilize Marius instead of killing him, he said that keeping sterilized animals would be "a waste of resources."

 

[Amy SF]

It's really sad to realize that at least some zoos tend to think of their animals as widgets, simply products that are marketed to visitors rather than living, breathing animals that need to be taken care of properly. I suspect these people at the Copenhagen zoo would be comfortable operating a Walmart or McDonald's, where the employees are treated much the same way as the zoo animals, the only difference being they don't get rid of unwanted employees with a bolt gun.

It does explain why zoos that have elephants are always insisting that their elephants are properly taken care of and have plenty of room to roam, which, for those of us who know anything at all about elephants, we know it's ********.

ETA: For all the above reasons, it's really a comforting thought that the public zoos in Costa Rica have been closed and some of the animals released back into the wild. There must be something in the water in Costa Rica. Costa Ricans seem to be some of the sanest people in the world.

 

[Mr Crunchy]

It just underscores the reality that regardless of the efforts for conservation and preservation of species, most zoos are still businesses that need to consider their bottom line in financial terms.

In other words, I think the hidden message in the explanation of why they don't sterilize giraffes translates to, "the medical costs of sterilization outweigh any benefits of having a sterile giraffe in the zoo taking up a spot that could be occupied by a breeder". So, it's cheaper and more efficient to kill the giraffe and feed it to the lions.

I could go on and on. There is a major issue at the zoo in my city regarding the elephant population. Animal rights activists are actually opposing a plan to expand their roaming area because it is thought that the 6 acre expansion is inadequate for mammals that normally have hundreds of square miles in which to roam.

There was another controversy when a baby elephant was born last year and it turned out it did not belong to the zoo. Something about one of the parents was given to the zoo in exchange for the first born. (although, for now, it remains at the zoo) This shocked and even outraged many people. I guess they figured the animals just happened to live at the zoo and no ownership is involved, when in fact there is quite a lot of money and commoditization going on behind the scenes.

And, if I recall correctly, the organization that owns the baby elephant is also in the business of providing elephants to circuses and other entertainment venues. So, they are all tied together, although the zoo looks the other way and denies any involvement in that aspect of the business.

 

[ledboots]

It's really sad to realize that at least some zoos tend to think of their animals as widgets, simply products that are marketed to visitors rather than living, breathing animals that need to be taken care of properly. I suspect these people at the Copenhagen zoo would be comfortable operating a Walmart or McDonald's, where the employees are treated much the same way as the zoo animals, the only difference being they don't get rid of unwanted employees with a bolt gun.

It does explain why zoos that have elephants are always insisting that their elephants are properly taken care of and have plenty of room to roam, which, for those of us who know anything at all about elephants, we know it's ********.

ETA: For all the above reasons, it's really a comforting thought that the public zoos in Costa Rica have been closed and some of the animals released back into the wild. There must be something in the water in Costa Rica. Costa Ricans seem to be some of the sanest people in the world.

Plus Costa Rica is the prettiest country I've ever seen.


ETA
Busch Gardens, a local theme park with animals, breeds white tigers to sell to other zoos. A friend quit because of the horrors. 25 percent of the offspring are killed because of congenital defects caused by inbreeding animals with recessive genes.

 

[Tom L.]

According to one of the articles:

"Copenhagen Zoo doesn’t give giraffes contraceptives or castrate them because that could have unwanted side effects on their internal organs"

Hopefully, some people will make the connection and apply the emotions felt for the giraffe to other animals. I mean, just what exactly do they think the Zoo feeds the lions when they don't have any giraffe meat?

That seems inconsistent. or disingenuous. If they don't sterilize the animals, they end up with unwanted offspring, which they then have to kill. They don't want to harm the animals' internal organs, but they're okay with killing their offspring, and in such a barbaric manner?

I saw a comment on one of the articles from a Danish citizen who said the babies bring in the crowds. That may be the real reason for not sterilizing them.

Sterilizing a female giraffe would be more involved than sterilizing a male, if there are parallels with the cats and rabbits I've kept. I don't understand how sterilizing (okay, castrating) Marius would have been such a problem- and of course it would have prevented the inbreeding they were supposedly so concerned about (and I admit that could be a problem, although I don't know offhand how many giraffes are in captivity or how genetically diverse they are). I think the real reason was that baby giraffes attract people to zoos (as Calliegirl mentions), and that they couldn't be bothered to provide lifelong care to an animal whose existence was THEIR RESPONSIBILITY (as Mischief and Mr Crunchy mention).

 

[Mr Crunchy]

I don't understand how sterilizing (okay, castrating) Marius would have been such a problem- and of course it would have prevented the inbreeding they were supposedly so concerned about

I will put it more bluntly: a castrated male giraffe is as useful to a zoo as a castrated bull is to a dairy farm or a sterile rooster to an egg farm. Their sole purpose is to make baby giraffes. And we all know what happens to male chickens and cattle that aren't needed for reproduction...

 

[Calliegirl]

The same thing happens with the places that breed baby tigers for people to take pictures or swim with. Once they are no longer 'cute' babies they are useless, and are kept in small cages in horrible conditions where they usually die from malnutrition or disease, or just killed out right.

 

[Amy SF]

The same thing happens with the places that breed baby tigers for people to take pictures or swim with. Once they are no longer 'cute' babies they are useless, and are kept in small cages in horrible conditions where they usually die from malnutrition or disease, or just killed out right.

Sounds an awful lot like the Nazi death camps.

 

[shyvas]

I think that the general public needs to be made more aware, of the horrors that are going on in Zoos.

 

[thefadedone]

I think that the general public needs to be made more aware, of the horrors that are going on in Zoos.

Agreed.

 

[Moll Flanders]

I just saw that a zoo rumoured to be thinking of euthanising an unwanted male giraffe if they could find a replacement female has stated that they will not be killing him.

Breaking News: Second Marius will NOT be killed, says zoo « Captive Animals Protection Society

I think that the general public needs to be made more aware, of the horrors that are going on in Zoos.

Definitely.

 

[Calliegirl]

Isn't that just going to perpetuate the problem? If they have a female to breed, won't they just kill all the future unwanted males?



eta: completely off topic random thought...I was thinking how Denmark is killing off unwanted male offspring, while Asian countries are doing the opposite and killing off unwanted female offspring.

 

[Amy SF]

I still don't understand why these zoos don't make an effort to find someone willing to take unwanted giraffes and other unwanted animals. Or are they doing this and failing?

 

[thefadedone]

 

[Tom L.]

Yesterday I included Marius in the Monday Candle Ceremony some people do at 10 PM EST Mondays, memorializing animals they've known (or not known... at the end there's a general benediction for "homeless, forgotten, abandoned, abused animals everywhere") who have passed. (although I generally do it without a candle).