PTS- A really random question

Shantara

Shantara

Well-Known Member
Joined
29 August 2009
Messages
7,425
Location
Milton Keynes
Visit site
No, Ned isn't on his way out, but I was at the zoo today and have heard they sometimes use horses to feed the carnivores there.

Firstly, is that true? And secondly, can you donate a horse to the zoo or do they get them from sales etc?

Random, I know, but I was curious!
 
Firstly good to hear that Ned is safe and sound!

I know there is one in the west country that uses Dartmoor ponies from auction. I wouldn't know though if it's possible to donate one to a zoo.
 
I keep meaning to start a thread about him! But keep forgetting! Perhaps in the morning :P

That's interesting to know, thank you. Hopefully I won't need to think about it for a while, but it's good to know your options x
 
Chan, have you ever been to Paradise wildlife park, at Broxbourne?
We did a feed the tigers experience there, using horse meat.
The keepers said that quite often local horse owners choose to have their horses sent there, as they know the park, and feel the horse has had a useful end.
Depending on the horse, it is something I would have considered per injection but obviously they can only use horses that are shot.
Recommend going to Paradise if you never have!
 
Dizzy socks said:
Wow, that video prefix made me jump, thinking there was going to be a video of some poor sod being PTS!
yep, I have also heard about the Dartmoor ponies.
Click to expand...

How on earth....I'm sure I didn't add that! Oops!
No, no video thank goodness :P

Spottyappy - I think I have been, I've been to so many zoos I've lost count! My nearest one would be Whipsnade. I love big cats (almost more than horses!) so it would make me feel better about everything I think, like you said, knowing they've been useful.
 
Many of the ponies and foals from the New Forest end up at Longleat as lion fodder. When the minimum bid is as little as 8 guineas it's no surprise really?
 
Bobbly said:
Many of the ponies and foals from the New Forest end up at Longleat as lion fodder. When the minimum bid is as little as 8 guineas it's no surprise really?
Click to expand...

Oh gosh :( that's such a shame! It doesn't seem bad at all when they've had a long, happy life...but to be bought and sold like that and at such a young age. Poor things. :(
 
Yes, dartmoor zoo uses ponies off the moor to feed most of their carnivores. I am not sure what I think of it, really, but it is a good source of nutrition for them, as it is much leaner than comercial meats such as beef, so closer to the natural diet of lions/tigers etc. I do worry a bit that it encourages the overbreeding of the moorland ponies (not purebred dartmoors) as it makes it easier to find a buyer for them, but on the other hand, the ponies are there, being sold for £5, the zoo obviously did not create the problem.
 
When I was about 4 we went to a zoo in Kent where they fed horses heads to the wolves. They were really obvious and just lying around the enclosure, the image is still in my head years later.
I think it's good that they go to a natural use like in the wild but that image from when I was little still makes me feel a bit mixed.
 
My mare went to Howletts Zoo in Kent years ago. She died over the queens jubilee weekend not the recent one I think it was 2001 ? Anyway she died very quickly of impaction colic and tbh at the time it was one less thing to deal with and yes I did feel like she was helping other animals. It happens in the wild all the time
 
Yes, zoo disposal was an option when my boy was Pts ( howletts and port lymphomas ). I was actually ok with that but my OH wasn't comfortable with it so we went for cremation.
 
Penumbra said:
Yes, dartmoor zoo uses ponies off the moor to feed most of their carnivores. I am not sure what I think of it, really, but it is a good source of nutrition for them, as it is much leaner than comercial meats such as beef, so closer to the natural diet of lions/tigers etc. I do worry a bit that it encourages the overbreeding of the moorland ponies (not purebred dartmoors) as it makes it easier to find a buyer for them, but on the other hand, the ponies are there, being sold for £5, the zoo obviously did not create the problem.
Click to expand...

Awhile ago some students from our local college went to Dartmoor Zoo as part of their coursework. The man doing the talk was very passionate about why they use Dartmoor ponies as it part of the conservation work done undertaken to preserve the breed, very often it is the foals they use to prevent interbreeding or indiscriminate breeding if they are sold on. He did go into a lot more detail but I can't remember all that he said but at the time the students said that what he was saying made perfect sense.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top