EDINBURGH: Two five-month-old piglets were the talk of Scotland's capital on Thursday, after the Edinburgh Zoo revealed it had culled the two babies in what the zoo said was a surplus to an international breeding program. Animal rights groups and activists in Scotland and across the United Kingdom have been outraged at what many have called the “unnecessary murder” of the two piglets. The two small river hogs Sammi and Becca were euthanized at the request of the European Endangered Species Program (EEP) and the zoo said they were told that it would be too difficult to find them new homes. Three other piglets were born last month, zoo officials said. The piglets were born on August 14, 2009, and were the first piglets to be born at the zoo since the African mammals had arrived in 2004. “We are thrilled that the red river hogs have bred this year. We hope that this is the first of many contributions our red river hogs make to the breeding program,” said Kathleen Graham, head keeper of hoofstock at the zoo, when the two little pigs were born. It was not to be, however, as only five months later, they were gone. Animal groups in the country were outraged to learn the news. OneKind, formerly Advocates of Animals, released a statement condemning the zoo for its behavior. Ross Minett, the campaigns director at OneKind, said “at OneKind we believe it is wrong for these healthy, harmless animals to be killed as part of a controlled breeding program. Sadly, this sort of practice does take place in zoos; which will surprise many people who believe that zoos are all about keeping animals safe from harm. “If zoos are genuinely concerned about the conservation and welfare of animals then they should endeavour to protect them in their natural habitat,” he argued. OneKind said that if the zoo was not able to provide adequate care for the animals they should have been put up for adoption to a wildlife sanctuary or an alternative home should have been sought. Instead the zoo said they were humanely euthanized. For Scottish activist Alice Oliver, euthanizing the piglets “can never be humane.” She argued that the zoo did not take the necessary steps to preserve life. “We are supposed to look at zoos as a place where animals are treated with kindness and fairness, but once again it is just a business and the zoo did nothing to prevent the unnecessary loss of life.” Red river hogs can be found throughout western and central Africa, living in wet habitats like swamps and marshes. They have been bread in captivity recently as a result of bush hunting and other predators. According to reports, in the wild they are often viewed as pests and are hunted for sport. Wildlife preservation activist Holly Smith, based in London, told Bikya Masr that this killing shows “the ugly side of zoos.” She argued that as someone who goes into the wild in search of animals on endangered lists in order to preserve their natural habitats, “the Edinburgh Zoo showed it was unwilling to save an animal because of some body's belief there were too many in captivity. What about sanctuaries, what about another zoo? There were options they should have taken.” BM
