******GRAPHIC CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNING/GENERALLY DISTURBING********
Feb 9 (Reuters) - The Copenhagen Zoo went ahead with a plan to shoot and dismember a healthy giraffe on Sunday and feed the 18-month-old animal's carcass to lions - an action the zoo said was in line with anti-inbreeding rules meant to ensure a healthy giraffe population.
The giraffe, named Marius, was shot in the head and then cut apart in view of children, according to a video of the incident released by the Denmark-based production company Localize.
The zoo's plans had sparked an outcry from animal rights activists. A British zoo had offered to give Marius a home and even started an online petition to save the giraffe, gathering more than 25,000 signatures.
In a statement in English posted on the zoo's website, entitled "Why does Copenhagen Zoo euthanize a giraffe?" the zoo stated its intention to euthanize the giraffe "in agreement with the European Breeding Program" and said that transferring the animal to another zoo would "cause inbreeding."
"As this giraffe's genes are well represented in the breeding program and as there is no place for the giraffe in the zoo's giraffe herd, the European Breeding Program for Giraffes has agreed that Copenhagen Zoo euthanize the giraffe," said the statement from the zoo's scientific director, Bengt Holst. "When breeding success increases, it is sometimes necessary to euthanize."
*********LINK CONTAINS GRAPHIC VIDEO/NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART********
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/c...,4203458.story