Does anyone think the giraffe could not have been eaten by lions in the wild ? At least it didn't suffer by being TORN APART WHILE STILL ALIVE, as it would have in the wild

Zoo Kills 'Unwanted' Giraffe Marius, Feeds Carcass To Lions

         

Keld navntoft / EPA, file

By Alastair Jamieson

Copenhagen Zoo's giraffe Marius seen on Feb. 7.

A zoo in Denmark killed a young giraffe with a bolt gun and fed its meat to the lions Sunday, saying the animal was “unwanted.”

Copenhagen Zoo said 18-month-old Marius had been euthanized the giraffe to avoid in-breeding

“When breeding success increases it is sometimes necessary to euthanize,” the Scientific Director Bengt Holst said on the zoo's website, acknowledging the decision has led to a “debate.”

     Animal rights campaigners gathered outside the zoo to protest the killing, local media reported.

Marius could not be released into the wild as his attachment to humans would make him easy prey, and no other zoos with the same breeding program had room for him, the zoo said.