Calls to castrate Knut to prevent incest

An animal rights group has called for a zoo's famous polar bear to be castrated to avert incest with his cousin.

Knut the polar bear shot to global stardom as a cub in 2007. The three-year-old darling of Berlin Zoo was given a female companion, Giovanna, last year but the German chapter of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals warned against their mating.



PETA's zoo expert, Frank Albrecht, said Knut and Giovanna, known as Gianna for short, had the same grandfather.

Any offspring would threaten the genetic diversity of the polar bear population in Germany and risk susceptibility to a condition known as incest depression, he said. "Knut fans need to know that only Knut's castration would allow a long life together with Giovanna," Mr Albrecht said.