A Swedish zoo has had healthy lion cubs put to sleep because officials said it would have been impossible to keep them.
Boras Djurpark, an animal park around 25 miles from Gothenberg, said it had euthanised nine healthy lion cubs for this reason since 2012.
The nine cubs were named Potter, Weasley, Simba, Rafiki, Nala, Sarabi, Kiara, Kovu and Banzai.
Simba, Rafiki, Nala and Sarabi were euthanised in 2013, at only a year old.
Cubs Kiara, Banzai and Kovu were killed in 2015, reports the Sun.
Credit: Boras Djurpark/Facebook
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Meanwhile, Potter and Weasley were born into a litter of four in 2016 and were put to sleep recently.
Bo Kjellson, chief executive of the facility, said that healthy animals sometimes had to be killed if they were rejected by their pride, or could not be given a suitable home elsewhere.
"I think they were killed after two years," Mr Kjellson told Swedish broadcaster SVT.
"At that time we had tried to sell or relocate them to other zoos for a long time but unfortunately there were no zoos that could receive them, and when the aggressions became too big in the group we had to remove some animals. And then it had to be them.
"It's no secret in any way and we do not try to hide that were working this way. So it's unfortunately a natural path for groups of lions."
Mr Kjellson added that he was still unsure what would happen to the other lions.
Credit: Boras Djurpark/Facebook
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"That we will see in the future. Currently, the group works well, but some of them may become surplus animals, and then we will try to place them elsewhere.
"It could be so that we have to put them to death."
Tragically, only two of 13 lion cubs born to three separate litters have managed to survive the past five years.
Two died of natural causes, while the rest were euthanised by the park.
Helena Pederson, a researcher in animal studies at Gothenburg University, told SVT the euthanisation of animals at such parks raised the difficult question of whether these sorts of facilities should be open in the first place.
"It is clear that there is a contrast to the public's perception of what a zoo is," she said.
"To kill animals as part of the organisation, I think that upsets quite a few.
"I think we need to contemplate on why it's important for us to have zoos and if it's worth the price the animals pay for it."
Featured Image Credit: Boras Djurpark/FacebookTopics: World News, Zoo, Animals, Sweden, Lions