Zoo causes controversy when asking for pet donations to feed predators

A zoo in Denmark caused controversy and received criticism after asking for the donation of pets to serve as food to their predators.

What happened

The Aalborg Zoo asked the population to sacrifice their domestic animals to feed the caged predators. In Facebook post, the zoo said it had “the responsibility of imitating the natural food chain of animals” kept in space, which feed mainly on small animals.

Zoo has called for donations from animals such as chickens, rabbit and guinea pigs, and ensured that the animals will be “sacrificed with care.” “These small animals constitute an important part of our predators’ diet, especially European lynx, which needs whole prey that resemble what it would naturally hunt in nature.”