Would you feed your horse to a lion?

As an ex zoo keeper, I’d have no problem at all with mine being fed to lions just as long as they didn’t have to endure a journey first. I’d have to be with them at the moment they were dispatched to make sure their end was swift and humane.

As an aside, I always thought having the services of a taxidermist to arrange the horse in a rearing up vertical position…..would make an excellent coat and hat stand by the front door…(joking!)
 
Same as a lot, no issue with the eating but horse would have to be PTS before it left my property.
I wouldn't send them off live to be despatched at the zoo.
 
cauda equina said:
And what does gently killed actually mean? Is it any different from just killed?
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yes it's very different, sounds a lot nicer for the public to read. `i expect they gas each small rodent individually whilst someone is taking are of it. Or perhaps they shove "em all in a box together.

I don't go to zoos. Went once as an adult and I don't think is was a bad zoo. Horrified by the living accommodation of the Colobus monkeys and told the zoo exactly what I thought of their housing.
 
Surely they just knock guinea pigs on the head like you would a wild rabbit?
(Not sentimental person here!).
If my horses were well enough to travel they went to the kennels. They were hunters and died convinced they were at a meet. If they weren’t the huntsman did them at home and took them to the hounds.
Horses are still fed to hounds.
 
poiuytrewq said:
As for asking people to donate live healthy rabbits, hens and Guinea pigs to be gently killed.. really! Who would do that!
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I think I may only consider it if my hens had bred and I had an excess of cockerels. I'm too squeamish to kill them myself, and to be honest, I find the number of people looking for homes for their excess cockerels that are "not for the pot" a tad stupid. There are only so many homes that can accommodate a cockerel and you generally can't have several. I wouldn't donate my pets and for information I'm not planning on letting my hens have chicks.
 
cauda equina said:
And what does gently killed actually mean? Is it any different from just killed?
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I'm not sure there are many ways to "gently" kill an animal and still have it usable as food for another. I took part in a course on ethics of using animals in science and part of it was how to humanely dispatch them. What appeared to be the quickest way for the animals was the most distressing for the human handler, i.e. breaking their neck. Gassing with CO2 wasn't pretty. If you're killing something, forget about gently, you want fast and efficient. I would be OK with neck breaking or the mini captive bolt someone mentioned. This is of course all theoretical, because, as mentioned above, I'm too squeamish to do it myself.
 
Like many others, I have no objection to where the carcase ends up but there is no way my horses are leaving here alive. We do usually have our horses shot, it's quicker and kinder imho, and have group cremation, We are not sentimental.
I can understand that zoos want the meat as fresh as possible for their predators but I shan't be sending them animals to pts on their premises.
I dont think horses are instinctively afraid of predators that are ignoring them though. We used to ride past a pet lioness, sitting out on a flat roofed garage. If she hadn't been chained up, she would have been able to attack but the horse was far less worried about her than the pig farm that we also passed.
We did buy a different horse that lived within sound of Blackpool zoo and took no notice of the sounds coming from there. There is a regularly used bridleway through the middle of Chester zoo.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
Like many others, I have no objection to where the carcase ends up but there is no way my horses are leaving here alive. We do usually have our horses shot, it's quicker and kinder imho, and have group cremation, We are not sentimental.
I can understand that zoos want the meat as fresh as possible for their predators but I shan't be sending them animals to pts on their premises.
I dont think horses are instinctively afraid of predators that are ignoring them though. We used to ride past a pet lioness, sitting out on a flat roofed garage. If she hadn't been chained up, she would have been able to attack but the horse was far less worried about her than the pig farm that we also passed.
We did buy a different horse that lived within sound of Blackpool zoo and took no notice of the sounds coming from there. There is a regularly used bridleway through the middle of Chester zoo.
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So many questions!! Someone had a pet loiness on a gargae roof? :oops: What the hell 🤣

Does anyone know if the horse culling is a free service? In which case it may actually help a lot of horses whos owners can't afford to pts perhaps.

Gentle killing I imagine is a neck pull? I assume they ca't be safely eaten after injectables.

Titchy Pony said:
I think I may only consider it if my hens had bred and I had an excess of cockerels. I'm too squeamish to kill them myself, and to be honest, I find the number of people looking for homes for their excess cockerels that are "not for the pot" a tad stupid. There are only so many homes that can accommodate a cockerel and you generally can't have several. I wouldn't donate my pets and for information I'm not planning on letting my hens have chicks.
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Yes that's a good point ad tbh I was thinking more the pet rabbits and GP's
 
cauda equina said:
In the Olden Days the hunt used to shoot horses and feed them to the hounds, but the difference was the horses were shot at home
I am totally with everyone who has said they wouldn't let a horse destined for pts be taken away

The zoo being in Denmark reminded me of this - I adore giraffes and thought How could they?
www.bbc.co.uk

Why did Copenhagen Zoo kill its giraffe?

BBC News looks at why Copenhagen Zoo killed a male giraffe, despite a campaign to prevent it.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk
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But then helgstrand is danish

Seems they have their own animal standards
 
Burnerbee said:
they do euthanise the horses first which is probably important to note….
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Yes when I saw the headline I was initially a little puzzled! I have no moral problem with it, assuming that they are good at PTS, but like others have said I always stay with my animals at the end, so it's not something I would do.

And I agree with @meleeka that most pet horses won't be suitable as they're usually only PTS when they're no longer healthy.

ETA Actually thinking about it, how on earth do they PTS the small animals if not by injection? I am slightly suspicious about this. Assuming they wouldn't feed their lions drugged meat. I have never tried to shoot a guinea pig but I would imagine it's a specialist skill (sorry, that was perhaps slightly dark humour)

ETA again....yes, neck wringing or gassing....I'm not convinced that's a great way to go for a guinea pig. It's a no from me there. Wringing the necks of cockerels though....fine.
 
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poiuytrewq said:
So many questions!! Someone had a pet loiness on a gargae roof? :oops: What the hell 🤣

Does anyone know if the horse culling is a free service? In which case it may actually help a lot of horses whos owners can't afford to pts perhaps.

Gentle killing I imagine is a neck pull? I assume they ca't be safely eaten after injectables.



Yes that's a good point ad tbh I was thinking more the pet rabbits and GP's
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Andrew Goatman does the zoo service for free, so long as you're reasonably close. Otherwise he will travel further for more than one, or charge a small fee.
My OH is a vet and the number of people who can’t afford to PTS is quite frightening (it is expensive- the drugs are very expensive) Luckily there is also a brilliant fallen stock person round here who is very reasonable, and who will shoot them too if needed.
 
TheMule said:
Andrew Goatman does the zoo service for free, so long as you're reasonably close. Otherwise he will travel further for more than one, or charge a small fee.
My OH is a vet and the number of people who can’t afford to PTS is quite frightening (it is expensive- the drugs are very expensive) Luckily there is also a brilliant fallen stock person round here who is very reasonable, and who will shoot them too if needed.
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The best person I knew was a slaughter man.He did one at my old yard and was so well organised and good and he kept the distress to the minimum possible.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
We did buy a different horse that lived within sound of Blackpool zoo and took no notice of the sounds coming from there. There is a regularly used bridleway through the middle of Chester zoo.
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OH and daughter once went on a fun ride past Blackpool Zoo. Apparently the horses were absolutely fine going past the lions, but Snoopy did a massive dramatic spook at a sculpture of a horse made from flowers at a local pub!

As for the original question, I need to be with my animals, at home, when they are euthanised. To be with the at the end is absolutely the most important thing, even though it is heartbreaking.
After that I'm happy for my horses to be used as food or whatever.
I used to be very sentimental about wanting to keep ashes but this is no longer the case. I still have Finn's ashes in a basket and it actually makes me feel uneasy...I just don't really know what to do with them.
 
Nancykitt said:
I still have Finn's ashes in a basket and it actually makes me feel uneasy...I just don't really know what to do with them.
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I ended up with quite a collection, so they've all been scattered under their favourite tree. It doesn't bother me if I have them back or not, but OH made the decision on the first one, then it felt wrong to decline the ones that came after!
 
Pearlsasinger said:
We used to ride past a pet lioness, sitting out on a flat roofed garage. If she hadn't been chained up, she would have been able to attack but the horse was far less worried about her than the pig farm that we also passed.
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Used to ride past the Zoo I mentioned and no issues with being within sight and hearing the big cats and wolves. Also opposite in a private house were 2 I think Pumas. Sometimes in a cage but sometimes wandering in the front garden. First couple of times wasn't sure I'd seen correctly.

Anyway spooky tb wasn't even slightly bothered by potential predators but didn't like the birds/parrots possibly squawking.
 
There's a horse disposal place ,(MHS horse disposal) by the M6 up Cannock way that has privately kept lions/tigers next door. I'm guessing that where a lot of fallen stock including horses go. This was a few years ago now - 2017 to be exact. It was Thomas Chipperfield that owned them and he admitted the slaughtered animals were fed to his lions. I don't see that being a problem as long as owners were consulted first. But for people who have horses pts by the knacker man and they are taken away to this place should be informed imho.
 
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