To feed its predators, Danish zoo asks pet owners to donate rabbits, horses

The zoo said the pets will be “gently euthanised” by trained staff and that the zoo will accept donations of live horses as the owners would benefit from a potential tax break.

By: Express Web Desk

Updated: August 5, 2025 09:20 AM IST

3 min read

The zoo informed in a post on Instagram that chicken, guinea pig and rabbit make up a significant portion of the diet of predators, especially the European lynx. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

A zoo in Denmark has appealed to the public to donate their healthy unwanted pets to be “gently euthanised” in a unique effort to provide food for their predators. Aalborg Zoo has requested the owners of chicken, rabbit and guinea pig to donate their respective pets in order to be eaten by the animals as whole, including European lynx.

The zoo said the pets will be “gently euthanised” by trained staff and that the zoo will accept donations of live horses and the owners would benefit from a potential tax break. Though horses donated to the zoo must have a horse passport and the opportunity for tax deduction on the horse’s value would be calculated based on the horse’s weight.

The zoo informed in a post on Instagram that chicken, guinea pig and rabbit make up a significant portion of the diet of predators, especially the European lynx which needs whole prey that resembles to the one it would naturally hunt in the wild. The zoo said that “nothing goes to waste”.

In the Instagram post, alongside a picture of a lynx, the Aalborg Zoo said “If you have a healthy animal that needs to be put down for various reasons, you are welcome to donate it to us. The animals are gently euthanised by trained staff and then used as food. That way, nothing goes to waste and we ensure natural behaviour, nutrition and wellbeing of our predators.”

Other than European lynx, the predators kept at the zoo include lions and tigers. The social media post by the Aalborg Zoo has gained a wide range of reactions, with some criticizing the appeal. A comment on the zoo’s appeal said “sick invention”.

Deputy director of Aalborg Zoo, Pia Nielsen, said “For many years at Aalborg Zoo, we have fed our carnivores with smaller livestock. When keeping carnivores, it is necessary to provide them with meat, preferably with fur, bones etc. Therefore, it makes sense to allow animals that need to be euthanised for various reasons to be of use in this way,” reported The Guardian.

(with inputs from The Guardian, BBC)

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