Live animals being used as food in zoo's?

[bugmankeith]

Just curious, but do any zoo's use live animals as food for their animals, like for enrichment?

I had a disturbing dream about this last night, and I want to know if there is any truth to it, so I can rest easier.

 

[sick4x4]

well

well i cant answer for all zoo's but i know for a fact the san diego dosent..i was an intern there for 3 summers...even for the reptiles..to much danger in feeding live food, sooo you can rest asured...peace in the middle east!!!!

 

[bugmankeith]

In my dream they fed tigers and monkeys to the crocodiles, and a female elephant seal to an orca, I was so upset in my dream I woke up and actually had tears in my eyes. It was graphic seeing what happened to the animals, that's why I hope it's not real.

 

[The Snark]

Sorry, but it's a very common practice in many places. Most zoos in the third world breed food animals for the predators which are fed to them live.

A pair of young white rats await their demise.

 

[Tleilaxu]

But rats are kinda pointless though, they are not higher animals.

 

[Thoth]

But rats are kinda pointless though, they are not higher animals.

Neither are politicians but we don't feed the to animals, then again...

 

[Beardo]

In my dream they fed tigers and monkeys to the crocodiles, and a female elephant seal to an orca, I was so upset in my dream I woke up and actually had tears in my eyes. It was graphic seeing what happened to the animals, that's why I hope it's not real.

Gosh....you mean you didn't know that Zoos around the world feed tigers and monkeys to their crocodiles?? :wall:

 

[The Snark]

Gosh....you mean you didn't know that Zoos around the world feed tigers and monkeys to their crocodiles?? :wall:

Be nice!

 

[sick4x4]

well

well i guess thats why we are not a third world country...there are still country's were women are fully covered and can be stoned in the street...i'm glad i dont live there...my nightmare has got to be like hostel the movie ,now thats a bad dream!!!!!

 

[Mushroom Spore]

It was graphic seeing what happened to the animals, that's why I hope it's not real.

Why? Animals kill each other *all the time*. Feeding expensive animals like tigers (what) and monkeys as prey items would be pretty stupid, but I don't see why the very idea is such a big deal. Animals kill, woo.

 

[sick4x4]

well

its not that the idea of animals in the wild killing....we know that happens..its the safety of the animals that worry me i think...i cant answer for everyone...for me the wild offers that bit of light, the oppertunity for survial...in housed quarters there is none and the hunter and the prey are forced to end up fighting which ends up hurting your prized zoo animal.and since its a third world country the vets probably never around???so then you end up losing ur animal to infection, then who wins???was it worth it??.in the wild a sucessful kill happens what 25% of the time..im not saying its wrong..just tring to protect..which if its in a zoo, more then likely a rare animal..thats all...safety...safety...safety..lol

 

[LeilaNami]

as long as the animal is being put to use I don't mind the live feedings however the only live food being fed would be the ones specifically bred for food.

 

[bugmankeith]

I kinda figured about the rats or mice, I just meant bigger animals like birds or bigger animals. I guess I was thinking what sick4x4 was saying, animals in cages have no chance of escape, it's not a fair kill if they did that, in the wild it's alot harder to get prey.

Plus in a zoo they are not dying from starvation, so they eat less in one sitting than one in the wild would, feed too much and they would become overweight.

From what you guys are saying I dont think they would feed large animals alive, mostly they would be dead already, and they sure wouldnt feed the whole body of a large animal, that would be too expensive on a zoo budget.

I see alot of dead chicken and beef being used, but none are alive or whole bodied for that matter.

And I know they wouldnt feed tigers,monkeys,or seals to any animal, it was just a nightmare.

As for you davidbeard just dont reply to any of my posts, I know how you feel about me already, and the feeling is mutual.

 

[Beardo]

As for you davidbeard just dont reply to any of my posts, I know how you feel about me already, and the feeling is mutual.

On the contrary...you're not a bad guy, just a bit uneducated and naieve. You can't say the same of me however.

 

[Ganoderma]

i doubt if many birds, lizards, monkeys etc eat dead bugs......and rodents and probably many feed live chickes/bird to reptiles.

we fed life bugs to all teh animals at our zoo, btu dead rodents to protect the display animals more than anything.

 

[bugmankeith]

Insects I know are fed live, no question about that. I saw a snake being fed a dead rabbit, and one a dead duck.

If they were alive it could hurt the snake, so I think it's best and easier if they were dead already.

 

[Hedorah99]

I know of several zoos that raised there own rats and mice for the reptile houses. The adult rats and mice were euthanised via CO2 gas and then frozen t be fed out. The same was generally done for rat pups and pinkies but some were kept alive for younger snakes that may not have taken a F/T meal.

Its a pretty common practice in zoos to only feed out frozen thawed meals.
1. Its safer. No worries of a rat accidentally killing the very rare serpents.
2. No worries of parasite or disease transmission.
3. You don't have to keep a bag of frozen rats fed.
4. Only a small segment of the public wants to see live food being fed out. Most freak when they see me feeding the raptors a dead mouse dropping frozen baby chickens to our snapping turtles.
5. Sanitary issues. The USDA actually has more rules governing rats in captivity than a lion or tiger.

I can say all accredited zoos (accredited by the AZA) most likely follow this practice. As for smaller non-accredited zoos I cannot say. I can also say a lot of animal crulety laws forbid some live feeding, in my state at least. basically I can legally feed a rat to a snake but dropping a calf in a tiger cage would be taboo. We do feed out live trout to the otters occasionally but I hate watching that. They pretty much just torture the trout for an hour before eating them.

 

[pitbulllady]

I have watched shows about zoos in which live trout or carp were put into the pools in the bear enclosures, for the bears to catch and eat, and many zoos feed live non-venomous snakes to King Cobras and live chickens to crocodilians, pythons and other carnvorous reptiles.

pitbulllady

 

[Hedorah99]

I have watched shows about zoos in which live trout or carp were put into the pools in the bear enclosures, for the bears to catch and eat, and many zoos feed live non-venomous snakes to King Cobras and live chickens to crocodilians, pythons and other carnvorous reptiles.

pitbulllady

never heard of live chickens for the reptiles. Not saying it isn't done, just haven't heard of it. The live snakes issue for king cobras is kinda a catch 22. From what I understand they will eat rodents but its not as healthy for them and wild caught specimens won't touch them.

 

[Crotalus]

In Sweden its prohibited for zoo parks and pet shops to feed live vertebrates to their animals
King cobras dont need live food, they eat dead snakes aswell.