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Stop Zoos From Sending Animals to Slaughter!

Each year, when baby animals exhibited in the Minnesota Zoo's farm display grow up and lose their appeal, the zoo sends them to livestock auctions, after which many are ultimately sent to slaughter. The following spring, a new "crop" of babies is born, only to meet the same sad fate at the end of the season.

When Chrissie Hynde—who was scheduled to perform at the zoo this summer with her band, The Pretenders—learned about this gruesome practice, she penned the following note to the zoo's director:

How can a zoo invite children to touch and play with and express joy over animals for their uniqueness, only to turn around and sell those very animals to slaughter? I request that the zoo stop this programme and I do plan to speak about it on stage.

The zoo promptly canceled Hynde's show.

Many accredited zoos feature farm exhibits and petting zoos. Even though the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' (AZA) Disposition Policy is intended to "ensure the welfare of individual animals," it specifically allows domesticated animals to be "disposed of" at animal auctions.

Please contact the directors of the Minnesota Zoo and the AZA. Ask them to enact a policy prohibiting AZA-accredited zoos from sending domestic animals to slaughter, both directly and through dealers who sell to auctions.

 Recipients

Lee Ehmke

Kristin Vehrs

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