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The Appenzeller Barthuhn serves as food for the carnivores at Zurich Zoo.
Keystone
Rare breeds of farm animals live in the Zoolino petting zoo at Zurich Zoo. Animals such as the black alpine pig or the Appenzeller Barthuhn are not only fun for the youngest zoo visitors - they also serve as food for the carnivores at the zoo.
"Encourage by using" and "Conserve by eating" are the slogans propagated by the Pro Specie Rara Foundation, which are followed at Zurich Zoo, as the zoo announced on Wednesday. Individual animals from the rare livestock breeds kept at the zoo are fed to the animals. "The animals killed and fed have led a species-appropriate life and there is no need for transportation," the press release states.
The animals that enrich the diet of the carnivores at the zoo include the black Alpine pig. Two of the jet-black sows have been living at Zoolino since June. In the past, several robust mountain pig breeds were widely used in the Alpine region for grazing and as a source of meat. In the course of industrialization, the animals were displaced and became completely extinct in Switzerland.
In 2013, a breeding program was launched in Italy to save the mountain pig. The last remaining breedable animals of the existing line were brought together. This resulted in the black Alpine pig.
With its short body and relatively long legs, it can move safely even on steep terrain. Its dark pigmentation protects it from sunburn caused by the intense sunlight in the mountains.
In addition to the Alpine pigs, four other Pro-Specie-Rara breeds live at Zurich Zoo. These are the Swiss chicken, the Appenzell bearded chicken, the Swiss tricolored small piebald rabbit and the Bündner Oberländer sheep.
20.08.2025, 10:34
