During my search on Ree Park I found this page : Ree Park Safari | Vilde oplevelser i Djurslands store dyrepark So if google translator is correct you can now give your old horse to the park to feed the carnivores. It is written that they can only received one horse per day and there is a weight limit : 200 kgs for pony and 400 kgs for a horse. It's the first time I see this kind of possibility with a zoo able to kill other animals than its own. I know that danish people have other culture but I am quite afraid that a owner can decide lonely to kill his horse and a zoo can do it for him. In my own country (France), you must see a vet and you can't decide to kill him if he is not sick or suffering really. So I am quite shocking of this opportunity. Of course it's my own opinion and Zoochatters can have different one
I dont know really what to make of this. Horsemeat is generally fed to carnivores at zoos such as big cats and wolves, we all know this. This meat tends to be sourced from abattoirs so in principle I suppose I shouldn't find it disturbing. However, a zoo offering to do the killing and without any criteria (such as whether the animal is ill or on its last legs) other than an owner giving written permission for the animal to be put down seems a little..objectionable to me.
You don't know what the criteria are, because the page does not say other than giving the size limits and that the animal cannot have been on medication.
As for the morally questionable aspect, here's the translation of the two first lines: You have the possibility to donate your horse to Ree Park when it is time to say goodbye. We realize that this can be a heavy decision. That is why you can be with your horse until the end if you wish so. The euthanization will be done as quickly and painlessly as possible with approved methods. This pretty much says, or at least strongly implies, that the horse has to be so sick and/or old that it would have to be euthanized anyway, and that they will do it the exact same way a vet would do it (they do have a trained vet working at the zoo, as licensed zoos in Denmark are required to have that).
Well then that makes a world of difference and I don't really see any problem or controversy with it. I do now thanks to Hvedekorn's comment above and apparently it isn't as callous as it would first appear without the necessary context / translation.
It was but now less and less. Anyway, I don't understand the link between the thread and horse meat consumption by people and this. I don't think it's the same as the zoo's vet is an employee and the interest of the zoo is to have free meat. When you go to your own vet, his target is to do the best for you and your animal. You can object the zoo's vet will have the same concern. Maybe yes, maybe not. You are true. There are no criteria and this is a problem. They just write "when it's time to say goodbye" but what is time ? Of course, I don't think they kill horses without real heath problem but they could say "you must require a certificate from you own vet indicating that the horse can be put to sleep". The message would not have been the same for me. It doesn't mind. For me a zoo is a life center, not an abattoir. I will never accept this kind of idea but as said at the beginning, it's my own opinion.
I understand this is your opinion and opinions vary. But most zoos around me, if they keep carnivores, they are killing at least part of their food animals themselves and I don´t think anything bad about it. Rats, mouse, guinea pigs, rabbits, pigeons, goats, sheep, freshwater fish and more. And while zoos don´t usually run an abattoir themselves for large domestic animals like cows and horses due to logistical and cost reasons, they buy large quantity of fresh meat from them.
I liked having chicks climbing onto my hands at Best Zoo. I was a bit upset that they could be dead the following day to feed to other animals.
I really don’t understand the issue here. Carnivores eat meat - it says so, right on the tin. Nobody cares whether cows, lambs, pigs, poultry, fish or inverts live a long and fulfilled life before they are killed for consumption, whether by humans or zoo animals. Why is it an issue for horses?
This provokes me pretty confusing feelings. On one hand, I don´t see nothing wrong on a zoo killing the animals they need to feed their carnivores. But on the other, I don´t like how that makes easy for people to get rid of their animals whenever they want. To me, sounds like "are you tired of your pet? Don´t worry, we´ll help you to get rid of it!". Anyway, I´d need to know the details. Also if in Denmark horses are mainly keep as hobby or if people use them for work. I guess the ones breed for human consumption won´t be donated for this.
I do know some (non AZA) zoos in the USA that do the same thing. I even saw a (still living) horse at a cat breeding center once that had been donated and was waiting its day. It makes perfect sense to me. Why just kill a horse and burn it or bury it when it could help feed carnivores. To me this is a non-issue and in fact I would be in favor of zoos breeding their own feed animals and setting up an on-site abattoir. The only reason this is an issue for the public is that there is a romantic association with horses that makes people see them as somehow different than other domestic animals (and I will admit they are more "beautiful" than cattle or chickens). That is why the United States has an insane policy of creating "wild horse" nature reserves (as many of us know they are not wild horses, they are feral horses).
A horse owner could simply sell it otherwise. Riding horses are pretty expensive. Amsterdam zoo does the same thing. Horse owners apparently feel they will do good for animals in this one last act. And probably the cost of utilizing a dead horse matters too.
As I think @Jurek7 is implying, horse owners are in a different category than regular pet owners. It's a serious investment and no one who is into riding horses buys one on a whim and then grows tired of it (in the way someone might buy a hamster or bunny at a pet store and grow tired of it in a few months). I imagine the horses donated to zoos for meat are too old or sick to continue caring for. I have not studied the issue, this is just my hunch.
As a horse owner currently facing the possibility of needing to say farewell to a much loved horse and is considering doing this, maybe I can help clarify why many of us would chose to do this. Firstly, horses are incredibly expensive to have put down. In my area of my country the vet has to come to the farm. Most use the same drugs that are used on dogs and cats, just in much larger doses. The vet visit alone is very expensive. Afterwards, you need to pay for someone to come remove the body. Very few owners have the equipment or resources to bury on the property, and most people board their horses at stables, so most stable owners don't really want you burying your horse there. The remains can also contaminate ground water, and because of euthanasia drugs they can't be buried near food crops. Putting a horse down can easily cost $7000 or more. This on top of any vet treatment done to try to save the animal. It is also very difficult to rehome a very old or sick horse. Nobody wants someone else's problem. Rescues often won't take old or chronically sick animals. Many end up in slaughter auctions, sold and then shipped often thousands of miles to places that process pet food, left to stand sick and alone in pens surrounded by death until it's their turn. My old mare was an Amish buggy horse. They use their animals the way most people use cars. Once the animal can no longer earn it's keep, they get rid of it. After years of being driven on concrete roads, my mare now has severe arthritis in both knees. She is now starting to be in pain more days than not. Do I put her through another harsh winter? What if she falls in the pasture and can't get up? How long might she have to lay on frozen ground before she's found? After 15 years of love and companionship, do I really just make her someone else's responsibility? And while it's true that you can almost always find someone to take a free horse, that comes with its own dangers. 5 years ago a vet student in the southern US was charged with taking over 200 horses that were "free to good homes" and selling them at slaughter auctions (often on the same day!). The horses were then shipped to Mexico where they all were killed. It happens more often than people think. Finally, sanctuaries have strict guidelines about what they will accept. The animals cannot have certain diseases, such as rabies, wasting disease, encephalitis, cushings, and more. They cannot be on medications that could hurt other animals. They cannot be chemically euthanized; it would poison any animal that eats the meat. They also aren't being slaughtered en mass, ensuring that the animal is killed as quickly and humanely as possible (usually a bolt to the head). Many places will allow the owners to be there until the end, a comfort to both human and horse. Saying goodbye is never easy, but it is inevitable. Most horses won't fit into this mold of requirements. For as big as they are, they are very vulnerable to disease and injury. I, for one, would rather know where my old girl is going, can ensure a quick humane death, and can know that her remains are being productively used to help other animals.
