India, Aug. 11 -- Aalborg Zoo in Denmark sparked backlash last week after it posted an appeal encouraging people to donate small, healthy pets to be used as food for captive predators.

In a now-viral Facebook post, the Denmark zoo asked for "unwanted animals" such as chickens, rabbits, and guinea pigs, stating they would be "gently euthanized" and then fed to carnivores like the European lynx.

"Chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs form an important part of the diet of our predators - especially the European lynx, which needs whole prey that resembles what it would naturally hunt in the wild," the zoo wrote.

"In zoos we have a responsibility to imitate the natural food chain of the animals - in terms of both animal welfare and professional...