Marius the reticulated giraffe was killed by a shotgun blast at the Copenhagen Zoo.  He was a healthy, 2 year old giraffe.  Would it be ethical for a healthy person to be killed because their genes were “well-represented” in other people?  Would animals in the wild be targeted by their predators because the predators have noticed that the genes are already “well-represented?” 

The Copenhagen Zoo killed Marius the giraffe because his genes were well-represented in other giraffes in European zoos.  I believe that no animal in captivity or in the wild should be killed because of their genes. The zoo ignored multiple adoption offers and killed the giraffe anyway.  The New York Times article, Is It Unethical for a Zoo to Kill a Healthy Giraffe?, reads, “Besides nearly 30,000 online signatures from those who did not want Marius killed, Copenhagen Zoo officials received death threats after they turned down adoption offers from other zoos, as well as a bid of 500,000 euros, or $682,000, from an individual who was willing to take Marius in.”  The zoo did not want to have a giraffe with similar features that those of other zoos had, but many people did want the giraffe, and they could have prevented him from being killed if the zoo had not ignored them.  Not only was the giraffe shot in public, they shot him in front of children!  These kids are going to grow up thinking that it is okay to kill animals. 

Would it be fine to kill a twin baby because their sibling had very similar genes?  People do not mind if one person looks like another, so why should it matter what giraffes look like?  The giraffe was completely healthy, and there was space in the zoo, but since he looked similar to other giraffes in European zoos, they no longer wanted him.  Furthermore, the article states, “This weekend a Danish zoo euthanized a healthy 2-year-old giraffe.”  I am offended that the word “euthanized” was used.  The definition of euthanized is “to put to death humanely.”  The definition of humanely is “characterized by tenderness, compassion, and sympathy for people and animals, especially for the suffering or distressed.” Is shooting a healthy giraffe with a shotgun in front of many people considered humanely?  The giraffe was certainly not suffering, and killing him was not out of sympathy.

According to Discovery News, the giraffe population has dropped about 40 percent in the past 15 years.  If zoos like the Copenhagen Zoo keep killing giraffes, this number will greatly increase.  The giraffe population is not large in the first place, but with all of these zoo killings, the giraffe population could be in great danger.