German Zoo Kills 16 Baboons Due To Space Constraints And Rising Tensions

A zoo successful nan German metropolis of Nuremberg has announced it euthanised 12 baboons connected Tuesday because of a deficiency of abstraction for them, ending a saga rooted successful concerns that it lacked abstraction to location them owed to an summation successful animals. The scheme to cull them caused awesome contention successful nan country.

The Tiergarten Nürnberg Zoo first announced plans to sacrifice nan baboons successful February 2024. It has been said that it examined offers to return successful immoderate of nan animals but was incapable to make immoderate of them work, according to CNN.

The plans drew disapproval from animal authorities groups. They besides drew protests astatine nan zoo, which said connected Monday that it would person to statesman to hole for nan euthanisation of nan 16 baboons. On Tuesday morning, it announced that it was closing for nan time for unspecified “operational reasons.”

Shortly afterwards, nan zoo confirmed nan animals had been killed, German news agency DPA reported. Activists now scheme to record a criminal complaint.

Rising tensions amongst baboons

The facility, built successful nan precocious 2000s to location 25 animals and their young, had reached 43 primates—prompting rising tensions wrong nan unit and interest among zookeepers, CNN added.

Nuremberg Zoo defended nan move arsenic a past resort, citing use concerns caused by overcrowding and escalating conflict among nan baboons.

Culling patient animals successful European zoos isn’t new—but it remains profoundly divisive. In 2014, Copenhagen Zoo faced world backlash aft sidesplitting a patient giraffe successful public, later feeding it to lions. Nuremberg’s decision, though little theatrical, is nary little shocking to many.