Stop the killing of Swedish zoo animals

  • by: Stop zoo cruelty
  • recipient: The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA)

Like in much of Scandinavia and the rest of Europe, its common practise to euthanize healthy animals at several Swedish zoos and animal parks in order to make room for others, among these are Skansen Zoo in Stockholm, and also Skånes Djurpark, Ölands Djurpark and Lycksele Zoo.

This was particurly highlighted in 2001 when Lycksele Zoo in northern Sweden shot 3 healthy bear cubs (the ones on the photo) in order to make room for new bears and prevent inbreeding despite international condemnation by animal rights activists worldwide including French actress Brigitte Bardot. Lycksele Zoo said that giving the bears to any zoo on the continent was out of question, and also refused to set them free as they considered bears to be overpopulated.

Despite all the controversy around the killing itself, the 3 bear cubs, Björne, Bolli and Bompa was then butchered by Lycksele Zoo's scientific director, and had their meat sold to luxury restaurants throughout northern Sweden where bear meat is tradition, and the skin was used for taxidermy.

This is not the only case of healthy animals put down at Swedish zoos, the Skansen Zoo in Stockholm said in 2013 that they are routinely "putting down" healthy animals in order to prevent inbreeding and make room for new ones. Jonas Wahlström, the CEO of Skansen Zoo, admitted that he has put down at least 10 perfectly healthy baboons in the last 10 years and also admits to shooting the young bears every time they have reached the age of 2 when they have went out of their "cute" phase, only to make room for new cubs. CEO Jonas Wahlström also said that putting down the giraffe Marius at Copenhagen Zoo was perfectly okay.

As for actually using the meat from euthanized zoo animals as human food is not only practised by Lycksele Zoo, there is also zoos in southern Sweden who does that. In a report in 2003 several zoos in the south of Sweden admitted that they sell bear meat to luxury restaurants when "surplus" bears are euthanized, as well as euthanized surplus wild boars, moose, goats and deers. In 2013 it was revealed that the staff at the Parken Zoo in Eskilstuna near Stockholm had a BBQ party on meat from euthanized surplus African wildebeests.

Other zoos in Sweden consider it as immoral to use the meat from euthanized animals as human food, and instead feeds it to the lions and tigers.

In 2012, the Kolmården Zoo scientific director Bengt Röken slaughtered 28 perfectly healthy antelopes cause they were not good enough for breeding, at Kolmården Zoo in Nörrköping in central Sweden, and proudly said "It was I who did it"

What does all of this have in common? These zoos are all part of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (the EAZA) who controls hundreds of zoos throughout Europe, to kill perfectly healthy animals is a part of their breeding program that many member zoos choose to follow.

Even though Swedish and Danish zoos are more open about this, it also happens on other zoos in Europe but more or less in secret.

Articles proving the killings of surplus Swedish zoo animals and use of the meat:

http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article10247033.ab

http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/bjornungarna-slaktas---saljs-till-lyxkrogar/

http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/dokument/djur-avlivas-pa-rutin-i-svenska-djurparker/

http://nyheter24.se/nyheter/inrikes/735535-parken-zoos-gnuer-hamnade-pa-kvartersfestens-grillgaller

http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article15781132.ab

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