The zoo admits they dispose of 20-30 animals a year — nobody complained about the antelopes, wild boar and others. What makes this so different? The media, mainly.
I doubt it’s much different in zoos across the world. The whole thing is a trumped up non-story, as most “human interest” items are.
They shoulda let the lions do the killing.
Actually it is not and never was a non-story. Rare animals are a source of revenue. Its a fraud and waste story.
I’m sure you are right - not so much what they did but how they did it. An antelope burger (or a giraffe) for the lions is appropriate when there are too many, but not in front of little kids, for Pete’s sake.