Danes defend killing of healthy giraffe at Copenhagen zoo

The Copenhagen Zoo sparked international outrage over the weekend when word spread that Marius, a healthy giraffe, was killed and part of the carcass was fed to the zoo’s carnivores. The zoo has explained its decision to do so and many Danes had a muted response to it, compared to those outside the country.

As previously noted, Marius was put down to control inbreeding, noting that the giraffe’s genes were already represented there. The zoo explained that it is part of an international breeding program in Europe that tries to keep the giraffe population healthy and one of the ways to do that is to keep unrelated giraffes breeding.

Marius’ killing was previously announced and thousands signed an online petition to stop it. Zoos around the world even suggested taking the giraffe.

"If we just sterilize him, he will take up space for more genetically valuable giraffes," Bengt Holst, scientific director at Copenhagen Zoo, explained to CNN when asked why they could not just sterilize Marius.

According to the AFP, although the international response to Marius’ death was one of shock and bewilderment, Danes didn’t really get too excited. “The whole world has gone crazy. What do they imagine the lions eat on days without a treat such as Marius? Brussel sprouts?” one Danish journalist tweeted.

“I'm still livid over Marius,” project coordinator Dorte Dejbjerg Arens told the AFP. “How can people get so hysterical over a giraffe while cancer, the war in Syria and the (anti-immigrant) Danish People's Party still exist.”

University of Copenhagen professor Peter Sandoee told the AFP that in Denmark, the general belief is that as long as an animal is treated well while it’s alive, it is OK to kill the animal. He also slammed what he called the “Disneyfication” of animals worldwide. Indeed, Holst did tell CNN that children who saw Marius getting killed did not cry, instead asking questions about what was happening.

“You take this very romantic image of animals as people with fur or feathers,” Sandoee explained. “Animals are viewed as a type of citizen, with the implication that they should be treated on par with fellow human beings.”

image: Wikimeida Commons