Although Sohl did not receive any payment from Aalborg Zoo, she would get a tax rebate. Another woman, Helen Hjortholm Andersen, donated her Shetland pony, Paprika, to Jyllands Park Zoo due to high costs associated with removing a dead animal. She supports the idea of pets benefiting other animals.

A zoo in northern Denmark is asking pet owners to donate their unwanted guinea pigs, rabbits, chickens and even small horses – not to put them on display but to feed them to the zoo’s predators.

"We have a responsibility to imitate the natural food chain of the animals — in terms of both animal welfare and professional integrity," Aalborg Zoo says.