The extended explanation says that only unrelated animals are allowed to breed and because of this at the Zoo it’s sometimes necessary to euthanise. The European Association of Zoos of Aquaria offered support for the decision by the Zoo staff.
However, it is unclear why an alternative solution was not accepted to save the life of the young animal. An online petition with 27,170 signatures argued: “Marius deserves to live and there must be somewhere for him to go. The zoo has raised him so it is their responsibility to find him a home, no matter how long it takes.”
Many zoos including the Yorkshire Wildlife Park offered to take Marius, the giraffe. A private individual offered to buy him for $50,000 but no response was given from the Copenhagen zoo.
After being killed, the giraffe was publicly dissected and fed to the carnivores. The lovers of the animals in Denmark were unsatisfied. The director Holst and his family were many times threatened with death, even by a call in the middle of the night.
