In February last year it was announced that the animals would be killed. Although several animal parks presented themselves to take over the baboons, none of the options were met, according to the park.
Activists were right
Yesterday morning the management came up with the unexpected news that the site would have been closed for ‘company reasons’ that day. The Animal Rebellion action group suspected that the zoo would kill the baboons and called for a protest action at the entrance. A number of activists climbed over a fence and glued to the site. They have been arrested.
Their suspicion was justified. The zoo put an end to the life of three adult males and nine adult females. Two of them died of anesthesia, the other were shot while they were locked up in a transport box. The remains were led to predators according to information from DPA news agency.
Irresponsible breeding practices
According to animal protection and animal rights organizations, the zoo in Nuremberg has been guilty of irresponsible breeding practices for years. According to them, killing healthy animals could have been prevented. However, the zoo states that there was a contraception program, but that this turned out not to be effective.
The German animal protection association emphasizes that killing healthy animals in German zoos is an everyday state of affairs. In many parks, animals are bred to serve as prey for predators. Excess mammals would also be regularly killed and offered to lions and tigers, among others.
The activist group Animal Rebellion for the fences of Nuremberg. © Getty Images