Protesters break into German zoo after it said it culled 12 baboons
Police arrested 7 animal rights activists who briefly entered the zoo complex in the southern city of Nuremberg on Tuesday
A German zoo said on Tuesday it had killed 12 baboons due to overcrowding in their enclosure, with animal rights activists breaking into the zoo in protest.
Police arrested seven demonstrators who briefly entered the zoo complex in the southern city of Nuremberg.
The zoo initially announced plans to kill some of its baboons in February last year, saying that their group had “reached a size that exceeds the capacity of the enclosure, which was already expanded in 2009”.
With the overpopulation causing “an increase in conflicts with corresponding injuries to the animals”, the zoo said that no suitable alternative to killing the animals could be found.
But this argument did not convince animal rights activists, who staged a protest at the zoo on Tuesday.
The zoo was closed on Tuesday for “operational reasons”, which the activists took to mean the zoo had been closed for the baboon cull.