Shock in the Cologne Zoo: Newborn Löwenbabys had to be put to sleep!

Shock in the Cologne Zoo: Newborn Löwenbabys had to be put to sleep!

In the Cologne Zoo, two newborn lion babies were put to sleep, which ensures great outrage among animal rights activists and on social media. The zoo decided to take this drastic step because the mother lion Gina could not take care of the youngest offspring. Despite the consideration of various factors, there was a violent public criticism of the decision, which was referred to as "cruelty" and "failure at the expense of animals", as OE24 reported.

The two lion babies, a male and a female were born a week ago. Gina had already given birth to three other young animals in January 2024. At the moment she is drawing these older descendants, who are now one and a half years old. In order to better protect the newborns, Gina was isolated by her older young animals. Nevertheless, she showed the desire to return to them. This fear could also have affected the acceptance of the new offspring, which may have led to not adequately taking care of the young animals, such as wdr supplemented.

criticism of zoopolitical decisions

After a week in which the newborn lion babies became weaker because they did not receive breast milk, the zoo decided to put them to put them in to "save them unnecessary suffering". A zookeeper pointed out that Gina acted rationally by wanting to raise the almost mature offspring, which is not unusual in the nature of the lions. The decision to do without a hand rack was also made to avoid misprinting people.

animal welfare organizations such as Peta calls for an end to lion farming in zoos. The biologist Dr. Yvonne Würz criticizes the targeted breeding of sweet offspring for visitors. According to her, the methods practiced are often not in the sense of animal welfare and serve more to the interests of the zoo than the well -being of animals.

A look at the zoo posture

The debate about lion farming in Cologne Zoo is part of a major discussion about animal welfare in Zoos in general. Laura Zodrow, co-author of the book "Circus and Zoo: Animals in the entertainment industry", demands abolition of zoo because animals in the wild are important parts of complex ecosystems. It emphasizes that many animals develop behavioral disorders in zoos and are kept in a confined space, which does not correspond to the natural living environment.

The Cologne Zoo plans to give Ginas older young animals to other zoos in autumn and then want to testify again. This practice raises questions and demands a rethink in the attitude and breeding of animals in Zoos to ensure both animal welfare and to meet the expectations of the public.