According to the Daily Mail, the Nürnberg Zoo in Germany recently announced its plan to cull nearly half of the baboons in the zoo to “ensure their survival.”
而且, the baboons that are culled won’t go to waste; the zoo plans to feed them to carnivorous animals.
It is reported that the baboons to be culled are listed as endangered species by the World Wildlife Fund, and the zoo’s intention is to breed them for species conservation.
This move has sparked heated discussions. The zoo stated, “This is to ensure the survival of the baboons.” With 45 baboons in the zoo, it exceeds the original capacity of 25.
The baboon population has been out of control, and the zoo has tried various methods to control their reproduction, but none have been successful. An excessive number of baboons is detrimental to the population’s survival and leads to inbreeding issues.
The baboon enclosure is already overcrowded, and the cramped space adds more pressure to these social animals. Due to territorial issues, they have been fighting more frequently, resulting in injuries.
The zoo has considered relocating some baboons elsewhere, such as protected areas in several West African countries where Guinea baboons are native. 然而, these protected areas also face problems with an increasing baboon population and have no space to accommodate baboons from Germany.
The zoo even considered relocating some baboons to a monkey sanctuary, but it is also overcrowded, 与超过 200 animals currently waiting to be placed.
最后, there’s the option of “re-wilding and release,” but the zoo admits that they are not currently capable of doing so.
现在, this decision has been met with protests from animal protection organizations, urging other zoos to take in the baboons. Some netizens believe that this is an excuse for poor zoo management, and the zoo failed to perform sterilization surgeries.
“The Nürnberg Zoo has culled animals, including endangered species, multiple times in the past, such as Mendes antelopes.”
“This once again shows that visitors to the zoo have been deceived by the so-called species conservation theory.”
“No one in the zoo thinks this is a good thing, but it is necessary,” the zoo director said.
