Culling isn’t uncommon in zoos,but the call for pets has raised eyebrows (Picture: Getty)

If you’ve ever looked at Tiddles and thought ‘yep,your time has come’,we may have a solution that is cheaper than putting them down. That is if you live in northern Denmark.

Aalborg Zoo has started asking for donations of small pets to feed its big cats,offering to ‘gently euthanise’ animals like guinea pigs and rabbits before they become dinner for Sumatran tigers and Asiatic lions.

In a lengthy Facebook post that caused a fierce debate,the zoo explained it’s their responsibility to copy the natural food chain.

They argued their predators,especially the European lynx,need ‘whole prey’ and that allowing people to donate animals that need to be put down anyway ensures ‘nothing goes to waste’.

The post created such a fierce debate that the zoo turned the comments off.

One wrote: ‘Imagine giving away your pet/animal as fodder,it hardly gets more disrespectful and unworthy than that…’

However,Camilla Lyngholm defended the idea saying: ‘I took a horse to the zoo,a few years ago. It was the quietest and most serene way it went down.

‘It was the best experience for both the horse and me. The staff were sweet and took care of it in the finest way and were grateful for the donation.’

In a statement,the zoo later said: ‘For many years at Aalborg Zoo,we have fed our carnivores with smaller livestock. When keeping carnivores,it is necessary to provide them with meat,preferably with fur,bones,etc.,to give them as natural a diet as possible.

‘Therefore,it makes sense to allow animals that need to be euthanised for various reasons to be of use in this way. In Denmark,this practice is common,and many of our guests and partners appreciate the opportunity to contribute.’

The zoo has Sumatran tigers and Asiatic Lions (Picture: Getty)

In 2014,Copenhagen Zoo faced backlash for killing a healthy baby giraffe and feeding it to a lion as part of a diet.

The giraffe,named Marius,was killed in a bid to ‘avoid inbreeding’,despite offers from other zoos to rehome him.

In a statement then,the zoo said: ‘When giraffes breed as well as they do now,then you will inevitably run into so-called surplus problems now and then.’