Marius
Marius, an 18-month old giraffe was killed by a bolt gun yesterday morning at Copenhangen Zoo. His body was displayed and dissected for an audience within the zoo’s perimeters.
There had been a worldwide backlash prior to Marius’s death resulting in online petitions and death threats. All was ignored and Marius met his fate after being anesthetized first.
The shooting, autospy, and the dissection took place in front of a crowd of spectators including children. As Marius’s body was cut apart, it was handed over to other animals to eat.
“I’m actually proud because I think we have given children a huge understanding of the anatomy of a giraffe that they wouldn’t have had from watching a giraffe in a photo,” Stenbaek Bro, Copenhagen Zoo rep, said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.
Copenhagen Zoo is a member of EAZA- European Assocation of Zoos and Aquaria. It was EAZA’s recommendation to have Marius killed due to inbreeding.
Offers from other zoos to take Marius were declined due to EAZA’s guidelines. One wasn’t a member and the other one couldn’t guarantee it wouldn’t sell Marius at a future date. A private individual offered to buy Marius for $680,000.
William Travers OBE, President of Born Free USA added: “Zoos claim that their breeding programmes are contributing to conservation – I say: show me the evidence. If keeping and breeding threatened species are priority for zoos, why then do they keep mostly common species?” Research by the Born Free Foundation has shown that the majority of species kept in zoos are not threatened with extinction in the wild.
The zoo claims Marius had to be killed because they had enough of his DNA and didn’t want him to breed. According to the zoo, it was said neutering would diminish his quality of life while contraceptives would cause renal failure. Marius’s brother lives at a zoo in the UK which said it would take him. Copenhagen Zoo said that zoo already had enough of Marius’s genes so he couldn’t live there.
Did a healthy,vibrant, young giraffe have to be killed when they’re were clearly other options?
Killing as the only viable option doesn’t make clear sense to me. If a life could be saved, why would you ignore all viable options to do so? Instead, every single request was flatly denied.
Since the zoo doesn’t believe in contraceptives, a time will come when they will be faced with a similar situation. Copenhagen Zoo routinely kills other animals throughout the year and feeds them to the other inhabitants.
The Born Free Foundation is calling for an immediate review and amendment to EAZA euthanasia policies, to ensure healthy animals who can be relocated are not killed, and for increased transparency in zoos across Europe, with accurate recording and publication of the numbers of healthy animals that are destroyed in each licensed zoo in the region.
Virginia McKenna OBE, Founder of the Born Free Foundation said: “I am appalled by the decision to kill this poor, healthy young giraffe. This is an outrage that highlights the urgent need to look more closely at all zoos and the welfare of animals forced to survive in zoo enclosures. Now is the time for people throughout Europe to demand that no more captive wild animals suffer the same tragic fate.”
You can view footage of from yesterday: http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2014/feb/09/marius-giraffe-dissected-copenhagen-zoo-video
This is sickening. To kill, skin, and dismember a former zoo animal in front of spectators is disturbing. No respect for animals. People wonder why I don’t go to zoos.
To put an animal’s death on display- I have no words for it. It’s an abomination.
This breaks my heart. :'(
There is no plausible reason for Marius to die. There were offers that were ignored. Marius had his whole life to live. Instead, they murdred in front of kids and dissect him until there is nothing left of his body.
I hate zoos and encourage others not to go to them. They aren’t good places for animals. Wild animals were meant to live out in the wild. Taking them out of their natural environmnet is cruel. Putting them on display and living in confinement isn’t any better than puppy mills. We constantly use animals to make a buck. Where is the shame?
Marius DIDN’T HAVE TO DIE! Totally unnecessary! I hate zoos!
Zoos are cruel and inhumane to animals. They shouldn’t be there for people to stare out while the owners make a profit. Do you know how ridiculous that sounds? karma.
Totally unnecessary! Stupid, stupid, stupid!