Live donkey fed to tigers in China zoo after dispute - BBC News CONTENT WARNING: This video contains distressing scenes, as you can imagine So,what do you guys think about it?
I think it is unacceptable from the welfare point view for the pray (poor animal), and in some cases for the predator itself (because the pray can injure the predator). It is also unacceptable because some of the public is sensitive watching the scene. It can also be unacceptable due to a veterinary disease reason, because a live pray can transmit a disease or a parasite to the zoo animal. One example would be a live pig that can transmit the pseudorabies virus (suid herpesvirus-1, SHV-1) which can be fatal for carnivores like felines and it is not for the pigs. All animals can be considered as carriers of some herpesviruses, that can be very virulent in unusuall hosts like an animal from a different species. In the case, the donkey may harbor an equine herpesvirus. Another example is the herpesvirus simiae (herpesvirus B) from the Asian macaques (particularly pig-tailed, crab-eating and rhesus), which is not fatal for the macaques (its natural hosts), but it is fatal for humans (causing fatal encephalitis in most of the cases).
I have added a link to the original post, which contains context about the action. I have also added the content warning, even though it is probably pretty clear what you will see if you press play.
The context certainly changes the scope of this, thanks for that @FunkyGibbon. I just hope that this does not blow up across social media and tarnish the reputation of zoos, or that zoo in particular, since it was not their doing, but an act of irrational rage by others.
I would also point out @aardvark250 , that it was misleading to the point of irresponsibility to upload this video without the context I have added. As @d1am0ndback has pointed out, it was not zoo employees who did this.
I have further edited the initial post to make the video accessible as a link to Youtube rather than an embedded video; although the thumbnail for the video was not graphic per se I felt it worth doing so to minimise the chances of anti-zoo backlash on Zoochat.
Unfortunately it seems this is my local zoo. The BBC's reporting implied it was in the city of Yancheng, rather than Yancheng District, Changzhou. Confusingly both are in Jiangsu Province. I didn't spot this straight away because the moated tiger exhibit is on the drive-through section and on my visit had many more tigers in it. It's not a good zoo, and frankly this sort of incident does not come a huge surprise. Obviously I have no plans to return.
They put up the monument to the unknown donkey at this zoo in memory of this incident to not only the donkey but also to "all animals that are unjustly killed" China zoo sets up monument to honour donkey fed alive to tigers