A zoo in Denmark is making waves by allowing people to donate their aging pets and livestock as food for zoo animals.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
If you have a spare chicken or a horse, Aalborg Zoo will take it. In a Facebook post last week, the Danish zoo asked if locals had unwanted small pets or livestock to donate as food for the zoo’s predators. Needless to say, this brief report is not for everybody. From the Danish capital of Copenhagen, Adrienne Murray has more.
ADRIENNE MURRAY, BYLINE: The zoo’s call to serve up these animals as fodder has been met with both outcry and bemusement from abroad, and it’s received a torrent of angry messages. Chief zoologist Anette Sofie Warncke Nutzhorn told local broadcaster TV 2 the media storm had come as a big surprise.
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ANETTE SOFIE WARNCKE NUTZHORN: (Through interpreter) There’s nothing new in it. We’ve always done it, and we see it as very natural to do it this way. And we don’t take in dogs and cats.
MURRAY: Among the carnivores are Asiatic lions, tigers, polar bears and lynx. In Denmark, it’s common practice, the zoo said, intended to mimic the predator’s prey. The animals are put down first. Nothing goes to waste. And it’s better for their nutrition and well-being, the zoo added.
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THEA LOUMAND FADDERSBOLL: (Through interpreter) So this is our refrigeration room, where we have a horse hanging for defrosting.
MURRAY: Opening a heavy refrigerator door, zoologist Thea Loumand Faddersboll showed local reporters where the meat is kept.
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FADDERSBOLL: (Through interpreter) This year, we have been so lucky to get a lynx cub, and so the mother needs a bit more food to make sure that she can support this cub. Therefore, we’d like to feed them with these smaller animals.
MURRAY: It’s not the first time a Danish zoo has stirred controversy. In 2014, the park in Copenhagen caused uproar when it euthanized and then dissected a giraffe calf. While Aalborg has upset some animal lovers abroad, many Danes don’t understand the fuss. Trine Lauridsen was a visitor at the zoo.
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TRINE LAURIDSEN: (Through interpreter) It is a good idea. The other animals – they need food, too. And I think it’s a good thing, when you say goodbye to your animals, that it serves a good purpose.
MURRAY: For NPR, I’m Adrienne Murray in Copenhagen.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “ANIMAL INSTINCT”)
THE CRANBERRIES: (Singing) It’s the animal.
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