So, Marius the Giraffe

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26098935

Copenhagen Zoo had a giraffe they had no room for, offered to 'other' zoos, but had no positive replies, so decided to kill it in order to maintain a healthy gene pool.

Yorkshire Wildlife Park DID make an effort to take it, but are told that their space should be saved for a more superior specimen :confused:


I'm confused by this.
 
I'm not sure we are being told the whole story here. I can't believe that a bona fide zoo would put down a healthy animal merely because of Euro dictat.
 
Yellowbelly said:
I'm not sure we are being told the whole story here. I can't believe that a bona fide zoo would put down a healthy animal merely because of Euro dictat.
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Especially when the Euro excuse was to do with interbreeding, the animal could have been neutered or if that isn't possible/ethical, (I'm not a giraffolgist ;)) then have procedures to ensure the animal doesn't encounter females when it could be a problem.

The Euro excuse doesn't ring true.
 
Couldn't go to other zoo's because of in-breed riscs...

People are invited to the obduction tomorrow, where the giraffe will be cut up and given to the meat-eaters at the Zoo.


And the director of Zoo should probably be cut up too - at least based on the death threats he got on Facebook...
 
srichards said:
Why didn't they just give the giraffe the snip? No in breeding risk at all.
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Agreed, a simple solution that for unknown reasons seems to have been ignored by the zoo concerned.

I wonder if the full story will still come out.
 
It might. I reckon that giraffe was a brother/sister offspring or it was a clone.
 
Longleat have destroyed 6 lions which is equally disgraceful
 
steunited said:
Longleat have destroyed 6 lions which is equally disgraceful
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I was just about to say the same thing but I saw you beat me to it.

I think it go so much press because of the way they did it and offered visitors a chance to watch them dissect it.

You should all watch Blackfish. There's a very similar theme going on - wild animals in captivity, getting violet toward each other more so than in the wild because they're kept in close confines.
 
srichards said:
Why didn't they just give the giraffe the snip? No in breeding risk at all.
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assuming the zoo has an ethical duty to conserve and further the species why is putting in down any different. Neither approach allows the animal into the gene pool.
 
I've been following this story.the reasons given for not giving it the snip ws due to damage it does to internal organs.

the problem i see is the public want to see young animals as they are cute.this means more business for zoos until they are surplus to requirements.to do the autopsy in front of the public was going a bit too and was a publicity stunt.surely it can be possible to stop animals in captivity breeding to stop situations like.it would be better if only selected zoos could have breeding programs.
 
The longleat lions were reportedly suffering from a neurotic disorder, which wasn't known about beforehand. Further breeding with them would not be wise and keeping them would have been too strenuous for Longleat? Dispersing them sounds like it could possibly just spread the problem.

Copenhagen said killing animals like they have the giraffe is widespread, comparing it to controlling the number of deer?
 
Zoos kill animals. A lot. You don't like it, then stop giving them money.......
 
I just wish some zoos would destroy the freaks they seem intent on inbreeding to make money, like white lions and tigers :(
 
if you're going to spend a holiday shooting celebrities i can think of better candidates than wils ;)
 
Gremlin said:
I just wish some zoos would destroy the freaks they seem intent on inbreeding to make money, like white lions
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White lions are a natural phenomenon though, originally found in Southern Africa.
 
You are correct but only a small number from one area, which as led to inbreeding for both canned hunting in south africa and money spinners in zoos

Fact Sheet

Do some research and you'll find similar on white tigers.
 
Gremlin said:
You are correct but only a small number from one area, which as led to inbreeding for both canned hunting in south africa and money spinners in zoos

Fact Sheet

Do some research and you'll find similar on white tigers.
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I agree to an extent (and also for things like Ligers and Tigons) , however theres no real reason to cull them as they arent going to be released into the wild or used in conservation breeding programs so they are genetically irrelevant, and making money for Zoos isnt necessarily a bad thing, if the zoo also has a conservation remit then the money is supporting that, and if its purely for entertainment then they are serving that purpose.
 
No doubt this was done for purely commercial reasons.
But before anyone gets too upset about it, how is this different to the untold thousands of animals killed each year by the RSPCA?
Or the untold billions (and it must be in the billions) that are farmed for slaughter just in this country?

And what the hell do you think happens to wild animals when they're living wild anyway? Those that don't get eaten by predators either die of disease or injuries of die of starvation.
 
Anybody want to guess what the lions ate on the days they weren't eating giraffe? It wasn't tofu.

Like I said, this happens a lot. This time it was a cute one.
 
I like giraffes, but i couldn't eat a whole one ;)
 
big soft moose said:
I agree to an extent (and also for things like Ligers and Tigons) , however theres no real reason to cull them as they arent going to be released into the wild or used in conservation breeding programs so they are genetically irrelevant, and making money for Zoos isnt necessarily a bad thing, if the zoo also has a conservation remit then the money is supporting that, and if its purely for entertainment then they are serving that purpose.
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Perhaps not breeding them in the first place would be a far better idea
The real conservation zoos don't actually have them
 
Gremlin said:
Perhaps not breeding them in the first place would be a far better idea
The real conservation zoos don't actually have them
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Yes exactly
As for the giraffe I think that the zoo should have had a plan for what it was going to do with it before breeding them
It's not good publicity for zoos quite a few people I know are talking about it which is a shame as most zoos nowadays do great conservation work
Chester zoo only breeds animals that are endangered in the wild for example Sumatran tigers
 
I had an interesting discussion recently with one of the staff at Escot where I've been photographing red squirrels.
She said that although they were all pleased that their squirrels are healthy and happy enough to breed, it's been a bit of a relief that they have only had a couple of offspring each year.
I guess there is pressure on all these places to produce but it's a question as always of balance and sadly they can't just release their surplus into the wild.
Although.........
 
This is a very tricky subject,and I'm not 100 % in either camp. I have read today that the reason they couldn't use any form of neutering or implant to stop the interbreeding is because of the risk of serious injury when anesthatized. I don't think its the fact of having to euthanize the giraffe,its more the fact of using a bolt gun on him infront of on-lookers,then cutting it up and feeding it in large lumps to feed the lions. I am a regular visitor to Yorkshire Wildlife Park,who offered him a home,so would have loved to see him there. Apparently his brother is already there.
 
mr.si said:
You should all watch Blackfish. There's a very similar theme going on - wild animals in captivity, getting violet toward each other more so than in the wild because they're kept in close confines.
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It is also full of rubbish and misleads the facts, it has one agenda!

Gremlin said:
Perhaps not breeding them in the first place would be a far better idea
The real conservation zoos don't actually have them
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Not really, they probably have to breed but actually need females. Alot of surplus males are sometimes born that are no use to the breeding programming, if this animal had been female I doubt it would have been killed.

LCPete said:
Chester zoo only breeds animals that are endangered in the wild for example Sumatran tigers
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Not true, Chester breed a lot on animal that are not endangered. The animals may be under threat due to habitat loss but are not endangered themselves.

Lastly this is more common than most people no about, just not talked about over here in GB.
 
Mbuti said:
Not really, they probably have to breed but actually need females. Alot of surplus males are sometimes born that are no use to the breeding programming, if this animal had been female I doubt it would have been killed.
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I think you've actually taken this out of context I was talking of the deliberate inbreeding of white lions and tigers, can't really see any reason for it at all:thinking: , well except as a money spinner
 
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Cows are killed every day for humans to eat and thats all money driven.. Why is a giraffe different.. We kill lots of different animals for the same reason.. not usually a giraffe.. is that the differnce..

Oh and before you say it.. man can survive wihtout eating other species so its not that...
 
Big Rob said:
This is a very tricky subject,and I'm not 100 % in either camp. I have read today that the reason they couldn't use any form of neutering or implant to stop the interbreeding is because of the risk of serious injury when anesthatized. I don't think its the fact of having to euthanize the giraffe,its more the fact of using a bolt gun on him infront of on-lookers,then cutting it up and feeding it in large lumps to feed the lions. I am a regular visitor to Yorkshire Wildlife Park,who offered him a home,so would have loved to see him there. Apparently his brother is already there.
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It will have been shot when there were no onlookers. And probably with a rifle, much safer. Cutting up the body wouldn't cause problems to staff, they're used to it, it happens all the time but usually the papers don't get hold of the story.

The only unusual thing about this story is that the media have made it into a story.
 
I think Garry has made a good point, the big issue probably isn't the killing of the animal, (even though it is reprehensible it happened when other parks would have taken it), but the way the zoo turned it into a public spectacle is what has caused much of the ill feeling.
 
KIPAX said:
Cows are killed every day for humans to eat and thats all money driven.. Why is a giraffe different.. We kill lots of different animals for the same reason.. not usually a giraffe.. is that the differnce..

Oh and before you say it.. man can survive wihtout eating other species so its not that...
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Giraffes are endangered - Cows aren't
 
It is a tricky subject and like Rob, struggle to come down on either side of the fence here. I can understand the reasoning for only placing him in an appropriate zoo [and there not being one] where interbreeding wouldn't be an issue and saving places where it is for an animal that is suitable. There are only so many places/so much money for zoo conservation work and it has to be carefully managed to make the most of the resources. I can also understand that there are reasons why castration is too risky. I think the thing here is that it became very public when they invited people along to witness it - again, I have no objections to this in principle, especially if it has a scientific value, whether that be to vet or animal welfare students, etc - but it does seem to have been done on a very crass, almost voyeuristic way and that is the main reason for the outcry in my opinion. As for feeding him to the Lions.... well, thats what would happen in the wild and better that than to be wasteful.

As to Ingrids point about deliberate inbreeding of genetic mutations/cross breeding purely to bring in the crowds/money....totally 100% agree. That kind of behaviour is why we now have bulldogs that can barely walk, pugs & persian cats that can't breathe, King Charles spaniels dying from brain seizures before they are 2 years old.....etc etc etc....
 
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Garry, if you read the BBC story, it states that a bolt gun was used - surely safer than a rifle? I wonder how easy and stress free a journey from Copenhagen to Yorkshire would have been for what I understand is usually a nervous and flighty species. As I understand it, giraffes are not easy to anesthetise safely or even sedate.
 
Hmmm.. well the guy at the zoo didn't go down too well with Jeremy vine today!!!
 
Gremlin said:
I think you've actually taken this out of context I was talking of the deliberate inbreeding of white lions and tigers, can't really see any reason for it at all:thinking: , well except as a money spinner
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My apologies I thought you were on about why breed the giraffe. Too many different things being discussed in this thread and got lost.

My point is still valid in the general concept Of the thread, which some may not be aware off.
 
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Dave1 said:
I think Garry has made a good point, the big issue probably isn't the killing of the animal, (even though it is reprehensible it happened when other parks would have taken it), but the way the zoo turned it into a public spectacle is what has caused much of the ill feeling.
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In all fairness no one forced anyone to watch, it was their own choice to do so
Sadly the human race seems to have a morbid fascination with such things
 
I actually think that it is quite good for children to learn where their food comes from.

.........not necessarily with a giraffe though! ;)
 
I know nothing.
Are Giraffes classed as endangered?
 
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