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Ricky Gervais' Request To Have Body Eaten By Lions Rejected By London Zoo

Ricky Gervais' Request To Have Body Eaten By Lions Rejected By London Zoo

Unsurprisingly, his request was turned down

Amelia Ward

Amelia Ward

Ricky Gervais has had his request to have his body fed to lions at London Zoo rejected.

The comedian and actor said on Conan O'Brien's US talk show that when he dies, he wants his remains to be fed to the lions in the zoo.

But unfortunately, his wish won't be granted, as the 59-year-old had his request rejected by ZSL, the conservation charity that runs the zoo.

Kathryn England, Chief Operating Officer of ZSL London Zoo, told The Sun: "I suspect Ricky may be a bit gristly for our lions."

But, she added that while the zoo - which was closed through much of 2020 due to the pandemic - won't be able to accept donations of dead bodies, they would happily accept financial ones.

She added: "But we are struggling financially because of lockdown so if anyone wants to 'give something back' we welcome donations that will help us keep our lions fed on a more suitable diet."

Ricky first came up with the bizarre idea while speaking to Conan O'Brien.

The animal rights campaigner said: "It would be good to give something back. We eat animals and destroy habitats and at least then I could give something back."

He added: "It would be amusing to see the faces of tourists when this fat, naked dead body is thrown out and as it lands some people go, 'is that the bloke from 'The Office?'"

During their chat, Conan asked whether Ricky had thought much about death and his impending end.

Conan

Gervais revealed he's fine with the concept and touched on why comedians like to delve into it when they're doing standup, likening death to 'stupid people' - saying it only affects the people around them.

While many know Ricky for his hilarious comedy, he has been using his voice to campaign for hunting to be banned.

Gervais told the Sun last year: "Why are we even having to make the case for banning trophy hunting in the year 2020?

"It's hard to think of anything more sickening or senseless than killing an animal for entertainment, then hacking it up so you can display its body parts and brag about it.

"Trophy hunting is humanity at its very worst. We've had five years to do something since the killing of Cecil made everyone aware of what is going on."

Featured Image Credit: PA