Swedish zoo admits killing ‘surplus’ healthy lion cubs
Boras Djurpark defends ‘last resort’ decision to cull nine young lions since 2012
A Swedish zoo has defended its practice of euthanising healthy lion cubs deemed “surplus”.
Only two of the 13 lion cubs born since 2012 at Boras Djurpark, a wildlife park near Gothenburg which houses around 500 animals, have survived to adulthood. Two died of natural causes, while the other nine were put down despite having no health problems.
Documents seen by Swedish broadcaster STV show that a litter of four lions born in March 2012, called Simba, Nala, Sarabi and Rafiki, were euthanised as “surplus” in autumn 2013.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In 2015, a similar fate befell three cubs christened Kiara, Banzai and Kovu, born the previous year.
The latest litter, four cubs who were born in late 2016, have fared slightly better, the Gothenburg Post reports. On Tuesday, Potter and Weasley were put down, but their siblings Dolores and Granger have found homes at a zoo in England.
The zoo’s chief executive, Bo Kjellson, told STV that the zoo’s strategy was “no secret” and that selective euthanisation was sometimes necessary to avoid unbalancing the zoo’s carefully calibrated care and breeding programme.
The Boras Djurpark aims to give its animal occupants an environment that closely resembles their natural habitat, and Kjellson said that an excess number of lions can disrupt the pack dynamic.
“When the aggression in the group became too much we had to remove some animals,” he said. “We had tried to sell or relocate them to other zoos for a long time but unfortunately there were no zoos that could receive them.”
Kjellson refused to rule out any future killings of healthy lion cubs. “Currently, the group works well, but some of them may become surplus animals,” he said. "We wish we could place the animals in other zoos, but we are fully aware that killing can be the last resort.”
The zoo’s approach may come as a shock to animal lovers, but the practice of culling surplus animals is common
In 2014, Dr Lesley Dickie of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, told the BBC that between 3,000 and 5,000 animals are "management-euthanised" in European zoos in any given year, although large mammals make up a small fraction of this total.
The EAZA’s guidelines to zoos and conservation programmes permit euthanisia in instances “where the continued presence of an individual animal is disruptive to the natural dynamic of a group”.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
5 sleeper hit cartoons about Trump's struggles to stay awake in court
Cartoons Artists take on courtroom tranquility, war on wokeness, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The true story of Feud: Capote vs. The Swans
In depth The writer's fall from grace with his high-flying socialite friends in 1960s Manhattan is captured in a new Disney+ series
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
Scottie Scheffler: victory for the 'pre-eminent golfer of this era'
Why Everyone's Talking About Masters victory is Scheffler's second in three years
By The Week Staff Published
-
Zoo moves parrots that swore at guests
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Zoos offer cockroach naming and hippo poo candles
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Gaza hospital blast: What the video evidence shows about who's to blame
Speed Read Nobody wants to take responsibility for the deadly explosion in the courtyard of Gaza's al-Ahli Hospital. Roll the tape.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Giraffe poo seized after woman wanted to use it to make a necklace
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Helicopter sound arouses crocodiles
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Woman sues Disney over 'injurious wedgie'
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Emotional support alligator turned away from baseball stadium
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published