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Healthy Young Giraffe Killed By Zoo in Denmark

135

Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,835 ✭✭✭ProfessorPlum


    What I found absolutely distasteful, one of the newspapers (I cannot remember which one), published a picture of a lion and lioness finishing the poor creature. having their dinner.

    Horrible story.

    FYP
    Are you one of those who finds it distasteful when women breastfeed in public?
    Is 'what happens naturally' difficult to see?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33,782 ✭✭✭✭RobertKK


    What I found absolutely distasteful, one of the newspapers (I cannot remember which one), published a picture of a lion and lioness finishing the poor creature.

    Horrible story.


    Why is it distasteful, it is no different than cooking a bit of meat and eating it yourself, it also came from a live animal and humans eat meat like lions do.

    I think lots of people have removed themselves from the realities of this world.

    Far more people seem upset about a giraffe than they would be a suicide bomber blowing up people in some part of the middle east for example.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 420 ✭✭Paulie Gualtieri


    Bit of a waste to be honest , those Danish are a strange bunch . saw somewhere that they kill dolphins or a breed of whales , can't remember which (I'm sure someone will let me know :) ), as a right of passage for the young men of the country. Quite sad really . I killed something . I'm a man now :/


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 724 ✭✭✭Flibbles


    But like I said, I'm only speculating. Even if it is the case though, the zoo should have known this would happen and should have not bred his parents.

    They didn't purposefully breed them though, the giraffes are left to it. Just like in nature, they sometimes have a go at their own family. This isn't the case here, but the euthanasia was to prevent that happening.
    Bit of a waste to be honest , those Danish are a strange bunch . saw somewhere that they kill dolphins or a breed of whales , can't remember which (I'm sure someone will let me know smile.png ), as a right of passage for the young men of the country. Quite sad really . I killed something . I'm a man now :/

    That "rite of passage" whaling season has been debunked many times and is not part of Denmark.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 9,085 ✭✭✭SpaceTime


    The story is pretty bizarre and I don't know why they didn't just move the giraffe to another zoo or wildlife park.

    Also the public autopsy was just macabre and a very strange thing to do in the context of a place that's supposed to care about animals.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,177 ✭✭✭✭Gael23


    Reading this makes me sick. Killing it was one thing but feeding the carcass to lions is beyond belief


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33,782 ✭✭✭✭RobertKK


    SpaceTime wrote: »
    The story is pretty bizarre and I don't know why they didn't just move the giraffe to another zoo or wildlife park.

    Also the public autopsy was just macabre and a very strange thing to do in the context of a place that's supposed to care about animals.

    The zoo said they couldn't give the animal away to other zoos as it was not good enough for breeding and would just take up space that other breeding giraffes could use, and they would still be responsible for the animal's welfare if they gave it away as a giraffe needs to be with other giraffes.

    There were also people there from universities looking at the autopsy and apparently it was a good watch as a lot of detail was given to the people present to view it.
    Animals do die in zoos too and a bad breeding program would be far more detrimental to the zoo and giraffes in general.
    I thought they made good use of the giraffe, from both an educational, reality and food sense.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33,782 ✭✭✭✭RobertKK


    ryanf1 wrote: »
    Reading this makes me sick. Killing it was one thing but feeding the carcass to lions is beyond belief

    So cattle shouldn't be killed and fed to humans?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 724 ✭✭✭Flibbles


    ryanf1 wrote: »
    Reading this makes me sick. Killing it was one thing but feeding the carcass to lions is beyond belief

    So what should they have done with it? Surely it'd be better to have used the carcass for something positive than just bin it?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,177 ✭✭✭✭Gael23


    RobertKK wrote: »
    So cattle shouldn't be killed and fed to humans?
    Cattle are bred specifically to be killed for food. Giraffes are not


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,813 ✭✭✭Jerrica


    SpaceTime wrote: »
    Also the public autopsy was just macabre and a very strange thing to do in the context of a place that's supposed to care about animals.
    In order to care for animals we have to understand them, it was a brilliant teaching opportunity for the public and for the staff.
    ryanf1 wrote: »
    Killing it was one thing but feeding the carcass to lions is beyond belief
    Why? Lions eat meat, a dead giraffe is meat (and forms part of their diet in the wild), it makes sense.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,813 ✭✭✭Jerrica


    ryanf1 wrote: »
    Cattle are bred specifically to be killed for food. Giraffes are not

    Giraffes are food for lions, so the dead giraffe is a more appropriate dinner for them than any of the steaks they'd get from domestically bred animals while in captivity.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 724 ✭✭✭Flibbles


    ryanf1 wrote: »
    Cattle are bred specifically to be killed for food. Giraffes are not

    Does that matter to the animal in question?

    "Oh, you bred me just to eat me? That's grand then"


    Your argument doesn't hold up.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,745 ✭✭✭✭kylith


    Oranage2 wrote: »
    I believe it's hard to put a giraffe under anesthetic because of the size and heart. Also if he's not in the breeding program then it's going to be expensive to feed.

    Thirdly it's a giraffe for fook sake, who cases
    Thanks for the explanation, that makes sense.

    You could argue that the giraffe would care, but he most likely never knew what hit him.

    I think it was a shame for this giraffe to be put down, but I don't think it was an atrocity. He was genetically redundant and would have been expensive to take care of.
    ryanf1 wrote: »
    Reading this makes me sick. Killing it was one thing but feeding the carcass to lions is beyond belief
    Would it have been more acceptable to chuck it in the bin? If I worked there I'd probably have asked for a steak to take home with me.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,177 ✭✭✭✭Gael23


    kylith wrote: »

    Would it have been more acceptable to chuck it in the bin? If I worked there I'd probably have asked for a steak to take home with me.
    It would have been more acceptable to move it to another zoo where it could have lived as a prefectly healthy animal


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 594 ✭✭✭The_Pretender


    Flibbles wrote: »
    They didn't purposefully breed them though, the giraffes are left to it. Just like in nature, they sometimes have a go at their own family. This isn't the case here, but the euthanasia was to prevent that happening.

    That's what I don't understand though. They leave giraffes in enclosures, knowing full well that they will attempt to breed. Surely they should know that if Marius' parent's were to breed then they would be left with a baby giraffe that is of no use. As proven, they know the genetics of their giraffes, but yet still allowed them to breed young that will be of no use and have to be destroyed. What happens if these two giraffes breed again? Will the same fate come to their next baby?

    I'm glad that they utilised the remains, and I don't have a problem with them dissecting the carcass in front of people as I see it as educational. If they were going to farm these animals to be fed to their carnivores I wouldn't mind either once it's done humanely (which it was in this case). But where I have the problem is poorly thought out breeding that led to this giraffe being surplus to requirement.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,533 ✭✭✭Jester252


    Jesus I don't know what's worse, the animal being killed regardless of offers from other zoo or poster here complain about the children seen where meat comes from and Lions eating naturally. I found it funny when a girl in my 6th year geography class announced, without shame, that meat comes from a supermarket. I thought she was stupid but this thread made me realise that, like a shocking number of the population, she was either ignorant or she has her head in the sand.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,835 ✭✭✭ProfessorPlum


    ryanf1 wrote: »
    It would have been more acceptable to move it to another zoo where it could have lived as a prefectly healthy animal

    The problem with that, is that keeping the giraffe, either in Copenhagen or in any other zoo is a drain on what little resources the zoos have. The giraffe we're told, because of his genetic make up, is of no benefit (and is detrimental) to the breeding program. That money is better spent on other animals that are endangered, harder to breed or what ever. If you choose to keep this giraffe, you'll have to nominate another animal to be put down as there will be no space for them. Resources are not limitless. If they were, I'm sure Copenhagen would have loved to keep the giraffe.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,204 ✭✭✭dodderangler


    Jerrica wrote: »
    There's no natural predators in the park per se, there are scavengers like foxes or birds. Badgers are mostly insectivores and love a good earthworm, but they're not considered predators of the natural fauna of the park.

    /semantic sally.

    The deer culled are no longer left for wildlife to dispose of though, they're sold on by the NPWS and usually used for human consumption.

    When I said park I was talking about the zoo


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,094 ✭✭✭SamAK


    the_monkey wrote: »
    Autopsy in front of kids ???

    sick c*nts ...


    The sick c*nt is on Pat Kenny now ... asshole ..

    Hahaha. Heaven forbid that kids get exposed to a bit of reality. We shouldn't see anything first hand, we should just read about it in books, in the classroom.

    Sure meat being alive is a lie anyway, we all know that all the meat in supermarkets grows on 'meat trees', fully packaged and all, it just appears out of thin air.

    Sarcasm sarcasm sarcasm.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,331 ✭✭✭Keyzer


    Could they not slip a Johnnie on him when he was looking for a bit of action?

    Maybe a gir-ex?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 724 ✭✭✭Flibbles


    That's what I don't understand though. They leave giraffes in enclosures, knowing full well that they will attempt to breed. Surely they should know that if Marius' parent's were to breed then they would be left with a baby giraffe that is of no use. As proven, they know the genetics of their giraffes, but yet still allowed them to breed young that will be of no use and have to be destroyed. What happens if these two giraffes breed again? Will the same fate come to their next baby?

    Unfortunately yes, the same thing will happen. There's reportedly about 20-30 cases like this every year, but with less public exposure. The giraffes are left to pack like they normally would, being seperated would not be natural, the same as sterilisation. While the death isn't a fairy tale ending, it's the best possible outcome.
    I'm glad that they utilised the remains, and I don't have a problem with them dissecting the carcass in front of people as I see it as educational. If they were going to farm these animals to be fed to their carnivores I wouldn't mind either once it's done humanely (which it was in this case). But where I have the problem is poorly thought out breeding that led to this giraffe being surplus to requirement.

    Again, the breeding isn't planned. While they do want the giraffes to breed, they are not actively trying to make them do it. They are keeping it as natural as possible for the benefit of the pack and future of the species.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 12,132 ✭✭✭✭pwurple


    ryanf1 wrote: »
    Cattle are bred specifically to be killed for food. Giraffes are not

    Lmao. What do you think lions normally eat?

    I thought it was hilarious that people had called for the giraffe to be released into the wild as well. I assume they meant some place in africa, rather than downtown copenhagen. Giraffe wouldn't have lasted an hour out on the plains of africa.

    A lion would have eaten it there too!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20,299 ✭✭✭✭MadsL


    Afaik this is what they do when they cull the deer in Phoenix park. Some are given to feed the predators in the park

    That's the single most homophobic post I have ever read on boards.

    Reported.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 724 ✭✭✭Flibbles


    MadsL wrote: »
    That's the single most homophobic post I have ever read on boards.

    Reported.

    I'm either missing a joke here, or you've quoted the wrong post.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20,299 ✭✭✭✭MadsL


    Flibbles wrote: »
    I'm either missing a joke here, or you've quoted the wrong post.

    Emmet Stagg ring no bells with you? Christ, I'm old.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 14,954 ✭✭✭✭JupiterKid


    Well, I think that the giraffe could have been rehoused in another zoo.

    It seems like such a waste to breed this animal only to then put it down. It doesn't sound like a well thought out breeding programme to me.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 8,101 ✭✭✭Rightwing


    MadsL wrote: »
    Emmet Stagg ring no bells with you? Christ, I'm old.

    Take a deep breath there and relax.


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 3,214 ✭✭✭chopper6


    Kinda gruesome i must say.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,226 ✭✭✭✭jmayo


    They fed it to lions, I believe. Considering if the lion and giraffe were back in their native homeland, the lion would have been chasing the giraffe for dinner.

    Actually no they don't.
    Their favourite hunting is for antelopes, zebra and wildebeest.

    They might try and get a young giraffe, but an adult can be too much trouble and a kick could cause them severe damage.

    Granted they do hunt and kill them, but it aint normally the first thing on their menu.
    AFAIK usually the African lion's diet is generally less than 1% giraffe.
    There is one weird anomally in Tanzania where in one park it does account for up to 50%, but that is very far from the norm.
    Maybe these lions have relatives there.

    Actually on youtube there is footage of giraffe killing lioness.
    tin79 wrote: »
    So you are against it? Is it any more sick than carving the Christmas turkey in front of the kids?

    They aren't the same thing.
    I do think that was a bit over the top.
    What was the purpose of butchering him in public ?
    I think it kinda stinks of that sensationalist TV program where people were dragged into an abatoir to see the butchering process.
    Why don't they drag out a few cattle and do the same with them when they feed the lions every other day ?:rolleyes:
    And the mullarkey about showing the anatomy of the giraffe is bulls*** in this day and age.

    If they really wanted to show kids and the public real life, then why not just let in loose in enclosure with the lions.

    Anyway now the danes have pi**ed off animal rights activists to go with most of the muslim world.
    Whose next ?

    I am not allowed discuss …



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