Rocker Axl Rose has been left appalled after learning a beloved giraffe at Copenhagen Zoo in Denmark was shot dead by handlers in front of children, chopped up and fed to the lions.

The Guns N' Roses frontman brought the story to the attention of his fans on Monday night (10Feb14) in a tweet that read: "Just enjoying the lion's share of some tasty baby Giraffica sliders! Mmmmm! What'll them crazy Danes think of next!"

He was reacting to the news that Somali giraffe Marius was culled to prevent inbreeding at the zoo. A photograph of the dead creature surrounded by children lit up the Internet over the weekend (08-09Feb14) and prompted outcry from animal rights groups.

On Tuesday (11Feb14), Rose returned to Twitter.com and added, "Seriously, let me get this straight... the Danes killed a two-year-old baby giraffe, chopped him up and fed him to the lions - allegedly in front of kids - to avoid inbreeding, rather than find a place for it?

"Maybe this is a big problem over there, I don't know, but I'm not getting how this deters siblings and various other Danish family members from f**king each other."

Almost 30,000 animal lovers signed a petition urging zoo bosses to reconsider killing Marius.