Giraffe Killing Prompts Spectacular Light-Art Action From PETA Germany

For Immediate Release:

12 February 2014

Contact:

Ben Williamson +44 (0) 20 7837 6327, ext 229; [email protected]

Copenhagen – The public killing of the 18-month-old giraffe Marius at the Copenhagen Zoo on Sunday, which sparked a public outcry around the world, prompted PETA Germany to send its own message to the zoo’s managers last night. The PETA affiliate denounced the killing of the healthy bull giraffe and protested the so-called “surplus production” of animals in zoos by projecting an enormous message in lights on the zoo’s entrance. The message read, “Zoos are animal prisons: You paid the ticket, Marius paid with his life”.

Please click on the following links for a video and a photo of the event.

“Marius’ death should be a wake-up call for anyone who still harbours the illusion that zoos serve any purpose beyond incarcerating intelligent animals for profit”, says PETA UK Associate Director Mimi Bekhechi. “Although his death is heartbreaking, it’s Marius’ birth that should have been prevented. I wish we could see this kind of outrage every time an animal is born at a zoo.”

The Copenhagen Zoo bred Marius into a life of captivity, allowing his mother to give birth to a calf while knowing that Marius would be considered “surplus”. From the moment he was born, Marius was destined to lead a life of misery at the hands of his human captors. All animals in zoos are denied everything that’s natural and important to them, and every aspect of their lives is manipulated and controlled. They are told when they will eat, what they will eat, when they can sleep, whom they can mate with, when they can go outside, etc. Giraffes rarely die of old age in captivity. Had he not been killed on Sunday, Marius would have spent his short life as an exhibit, stranded in a cold climate, thousands of miles away from his true home.

For more information on animals in zoos, please visit PETA.org.uk.

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