A zoo in Denmark has appealed to the public to donate their healthy unwanted pets as part of a unique effort to provide food for its predators.

Aalborg Zoo has asked for donations of live chickens, rabbits, and guinea pigs, which it says are “gently euthanised” by trained staff.

The zoo also accepts donations of live horses – with owners able to benefit from a potential tax break.

Posting on Instagram, the zoo explains it has a “responsibility to imitate the natural food chain of the animals” and smaller livestock “make up an important part of the diet of our predators”.

The zoo says the food provided in this way is “reminiscent of what it would naturally hunt in the wild” – and that this is especially true for the Eurasian lynx.

Other predators being kept at the zoo include lions and tigers.

The small animals can be donated on weekdays, with no more than four at a time without an appointment.

On its website, underneath a picture of a tiger devouring a piece of meat, Aalborg Zoo lays out the conditions for donating horses.

To be eligible they need to have a horse passport and cannot have been treated for an illness within the previous 30 days.

If they are successful in handing over their animals, horse donors can then receive a tax deduction.

In a statement, the zoo’s deputy director, Pia Nielsen, said the zoo’s carnivores had been fed smaller livestock “for many years”.

“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,” she explained.

“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 livestock we receive as donations are chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs, and horses.”