Children were among the curious crowd-gatherers who watched as an 18-month-old giraffe was butchered into pieces before being fed to lions. While the public demonstration might have turned many heads, it was the reason for the giraffe’s death that has sparked anger across the globe. The giraffe was perfectly healthy - too healthy - and so it had to go. That, according to zoo officials at the Copenhagen Zoo, who euthanized the male giraffe named Marius on Feb. 9, before feeding its remains to its captive lions. Officials said that euthanizing Marius was a necessity and, in fact, was a good sign of the success of their breeding program. “Copenhagen Zoo’s giraffe’s are part of an international breeding program which aims at ensuring a healthy giraffe population,” the zoo said in a public statement. “This is done by constantly ensu[ing] that only unrelated giraffes breed so that inbreeding is avoided.” In the case of Marius, ...