“Chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs make up an important part of the diet of our predators, especially the European lynx – which needs whole prey, which is reminiscent of what it would naturally hunt in the wild 🐾 In zoos we have a responsibility to imitate the natural food chain of the animals – in terms of both animal welfare and professional integrity 🤝 If you have a healthy animal that has to leave for various reasons, feel free to donate it to us. The animals are gently euthanized by trained staff and used as fodder. That way, nothing goes to waste – and we ensure natural behavior, nutrition and well-being of our predators ♻️💕” says an auto-translated Facebook post from the Aalborg Zoo in the town of the same name in Denmark. The “gently euthanized” part seems a little dicey.

The post links to a page on the zoo’s website, which goes into further detail and hypes the tax savings for live horse donations. “Aalborg Zoo gratefully receives live horses, which we euthanize and slaughter for food at Aalborg Zoo. Our needs vary throughout the year, and there may be a waiting list. Before you consider contacting us regarding donation, the following conditions must be met: You must provide your name, address and phone number when registering the horse…”

“Aalborg Zoo receives the horse as a donation, and you as the owner of the horse can obtain a tax deduction for the value of the horse. You only need to provide your CPR number and/or CVR number when handing in the horse. The value of the horse is calculated at DKK 5 per kg. If you do not wish to provide your CPR number to obtain a tax deduction, we will still be happy to receive the horse. We also accept chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs on weekdays between 10 am and 1 pm, but no more than four at a time. If you would like to donate more than one animal at a time, please contact us to arrange a delivery,” the Google-translated page for the animal slaughter operation continued.