Zoothanasia Quotes

“One young giraffe, Marius, made international news in what became a very public display of management euthanasia by the Copenhagen Zoo. When Marius was born, his fate was in the hands of Jörg Jebram, who is the giraffe coordinator for the EAZA. When the giraffe turned one, Jebram informed the Copenhagen Zoo that the giraffe was "genetically unnecessary" (Kaufman, 2012, p. 1). Despite multiple offers for placement at alternative zoological facilities and sanctuaries, the Copenhagen Zoo ignored such offers and continued plans to execute Marius. On the morning of February 9, 2014, Marius was led out from the giraffe house and into the adjacent yard. He was fed a slice of rye bread and when he stood up, and while chewing the tasty treat, he was shot in the head by a zoo employee who had been waiting with a loaded Winchester Rifle. The execution of Marius was not well received by the public, nor was the public dissection of his corpse. Chris Zimmerman, doctoral researcher at the Copenhagen Business School, counted over two hundred and thirty thousand Marius-related tweets, in both English and Danish, expressing outrage over Marius' tragic fate (Kaufman, 2012).”
― Eve D'Vincent, Captive Ambassadors: The Hidden Lives of Zoo Animals