At Borås Zoo there are a lot of wild animals to see. Animals that also need food, something that the zoo wants to manage in a “natural cycle”. Therefore, the zoo is currently calling for horses that will be euthanized and given to lions as food.
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Borås zoo calls for horses – need food
The culling goes under the name “trustworthy culling” and horses will be accepted by both private individuals and companies. The zoo writes on its website that they “pursue an environmental mindset” and want to take care of the bodies that come from euthanized horses.
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The zoo’s wanted list. Photo: Screenshot/Borås zoo.
In an interview with Aftonbladet does Erik Johanssonhead of the zoological department at Borås zoo, one thing is clear: the horses will not be fed alive to the lions.
– It is illegal to feed live vertebrates. It would also be incredibly stressful for the animal, and they would have no way to escape like in the wild. It wouldn’t be good, he tells the newspaper.
On the website you are clear about how the euthanasia will take place: At Borås Zoo, they have a special facility for euthanasia which is located outdoors, and the euthanasia is done mechanically with a bolt gun.
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Photo: Screenshot/Borås zoo. Horse owner: “Makabert”
Not everyone is positive about the zoo’s initiative. A horse owner, who has spoken to Dagens Nyheter, calls the whole thing “macabre”.
– Just leaving a whole animal that they will then tear apart… No, that sounds very macabre, says the horse owner Jennifer Mendoza to the newspaper.
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Critical voices from horse owners can also be heard on Facebook.
“Never! My horses are the dearest thing I have. They should have a dignified death when the time comes due to age or illness. Nor is torn apart by predators after death,” writes one user.
However, Erik Johansson at Borås Zoo is not worried.
– That’s how it will always be, it’s not for everyone. This is for a target group that has decided that one’s horse will be useful after its death, he says The evening paper.
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