Zoo Director Dag Encke already explained at the end of July that the killing of the animals was “hopeless”. Attempts to hand over the animals to other facilities have also failed. These statements are now violently questioned by Youtuber and marine biologist Robert Marc Lehmann.
Lehmann bases his criticism on the statements of Graham Garen, the head of the Wales Ape and Monkey Sanctuary (Wams) in Great Britain, a mercy farm for animals. In a YouTube video in which Lehmann represents his view, Garen explains that his facility had signaled interest in taking over the pavian, but this was not implemented.
In the video, Garen expresses: “We kept clear a place all the time, but nobody contacted us.” Garen continues that those responsible for the Nuremberg Zoo would have had the opportunity to get an idea of the keeping conditions in its facility at any time, but nobody came. He also criticizes that he was never invited to a conversation in Nuremberg.
Zoo: No answers to questions about the keeping conditions
In conversation with Lehmann, Garen admits that he received a form of the European Zoo Association (EAZA). However, he felt this as “insolent”. The Nuremberg Tiergarten refers exactly to this document to explain its position. The zoo emphasizes that the questionnaire should primarily query the keeping conditions of the facility.
However, since the WAMS did not respond to the form, the Nuremberg Tiergarten explained that there was no information about the conditions on site. Those responsible argue that this was ultimately the cause that the delivery of the animals did not come about. The Tiergarten published all communication with the WAMS on its website. The published documents show that the zoo had asked the Wams to answer several times.
Zoo already said in 2024 considerations to kill the Paviane
As early as 2024, the Nuremberg Tiergarten made it public that there were considerations to kill individual couples. The group had become too large for the enclosure, which led to conflicts among the animals, said Zoo Director Dag Encke. Further attempts to reduce the group failed.
On July 29 of this year, the decision was finally implemented: Despite loud protests, ten couples were shot. Two other animals died during preliminary examinations.
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