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Zoo feeds unwanted giraffe to lions *warning, death mentioned...obvs*
Apparently for inbreeding purposes or something this zoo had to get rid of this young giraffe. Couldn't they have re-homed it or something? Jesus.
WTF, who brings their toddler to see a giraffe getting shot in the head and then taken apart for an autopsy? Or am I being too sensitive and this is something fun for the young ones? At our local zoo, we can sign up to feed the giraffe's... that's more the family outing that suits me.
Do NOT click the "pictures" within the news article.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Zoo feeds unwanted giraffe to lions *warning, death mentioned...obvs*
Unbelievable. I can stomach a lot. That was a very sick and cruel thing to do. The zoo director seems to have relished killing the young animal in front of young children... Sad times we are living in when we have an audience to kill something.
I "dissected" a frog via a website, in high school.
Ps. Did not read the article. I'm eating here.
As far as why he was kept alive two years... Perhaps they were looking for a spot for him (and the zoos offering him weren't a legit offer unless they were accredited and approved to take him) where he'd work well genetically. Or do you all really think it'd go well to kill a newborn giraffe because his genetics weren't valuable? I think they were also waiting for approval for the death after a certain point.
Giraffes apparently don't do well with castration or birth control. I'm not sure why castration is hard on the males.
I'm not that up in arms about it. I'd like to know a lot more about castration in giraffes and potentially ending pregnancies that are unwanted, like you can in cows or horses.
The doing it in public... I can't get that upset about that either. Clearly people went to see it and wanted to see it. They'd have had to video it anyway so people couldn't claim later it was inhumane. Captive bolt guns are considered an extremely humane method of death and are used to slaughter cows and horses for food.
I guess it is kind of ambiguous in most articles. I got the impression he was shot as part of the demo. "The 18-month-old giraffe, named Marius, was shot with a bolt gun, and cut up in front of curious onlookers on the zoo property"
I thought much of the twitter outcry was because of the public execution.
If he wasn't shot publically I have much less of a problem with the demonstration. You want your kids to see that sick shit, be my guest.
But why is killing an animal humanely in public bad?
I know that may not be what happened here, but if the onlookers know that the animal is being killed and the animal isn't distressed by the onlookers, I don't think it's bad.
"After the giraffe was killed, the body was moved to a public location, where a crowd, including small children, watched as zoo officials cut up the body. A graphic video is below."
Baby animals are a huge draw.
But if they don't use contraceptives then of course there will be babies. Over population of many species is a problem for zoos. Most zoos don't jump to take lions or other common species. Giraffes are very common.
I know many zoos do have to do population control for many species that breed well, at least in the US. I don't know why that differs in Europe or if it's just for giraffes.
As for the mention this wouldn't happen to a tiger... Well, it could. TIGERS aren't uncommon. "Pure" subspecies (Bengal, Siberian, etc) are. If your zoo has a crossbreed they're likely to be sterilized. They don't want more of them.
Would you use the word "execution" to describe using a captive bolt gun on a cow in a slaughterhouse?
I've just seen execution used a few times and wasn't sure if it was because the death was thought to be public or if it was because a giraffe died, not a cow.
Execution seems like a dramatic term to me.
Is this where I confess I've seen/heard of demonstrations of various humane methods of killing? Usually it's been on by a vet school or sometimes a larger clinic. Sometimes just for pre-vet or vet students, sometimes for more general purposes.
There's a series of excellent videos out on YouTube by a vet clinic out west, demonstrating humane methods of euthanasia and discussing disposal. Their goal was to let owners see what will happen and what their choices were. They were recorded and there were some people there as well. None of the horses were upset at all. They were "good deaths".
I guess I see where the actual act can be a learning experience or educational moment. As long as the animal is treated with respect and not disturbed it doesn't bother me who sees. No death is a cause for celebration, but they can be "public" without being disrespectful or unkind and they can teach people something.
A shotgun would've left it close to headless.
I agree with your journalism sentiment.
I was trying to avoid leaving that image in people's brains, lol.
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This inaccuracy on the part of the NYT bothers me, too. Killing an animal with a captive bolt gun disturbs me far less than if a shotgun were used, given the popularity of captive bolt guns for commercial slaughter.
I think personally I'd be more comfortable viewing video showing cattle being slaughtered for meat than a giraffe because it opens a more straightforward discussion about where our food comes from. I'm less comfortable trying to understand the intricacies of the giraffe breeding program because seriously it sounds super complicated.