Dispute over Paviane: Activists chained himself in the Nuremberg Zoo!

Dispute over Paviane: Activists chained himself in the Nuremberg Zoo!

in the Nuremberg Tiergarten, where otherwise happy visitors stroll past, an emotional protest occurred on Sunday afternoon. Six animal welfare activists from the "Animal Rebellion" group chained to the Guinea Paviane enclosure to fight for the planned killing of 20 healthy monkeys. The Tiergarten plans to reduce the Pavian Group from currently 45 to 22 animals in order to counteract rising aggression and injuries within the group. This measure is considered the last solution, since other options, such as the delivery to other zoos, could not be realized.

The activists held banners with urgent messages such as "Let the Paviane free" and "kill animals is a crime" during the protest. Spokeswoman Emilia Schüler emphasized that the intended killing would be a step backwards for animal welfare in Germany and could create a questionable precedent. "We finally have to listen to the animals and lead a reasonable dialogue instead of looking for solutions through killing," continued Schüler. Tiergart director Dag Encke, on the other hand, expressed his lack of understanding of the lack of discussions and called for a dialogue to clarify the situation.

conflict between the zoo and activists escalitated

The police were on site with several forces to regulate the protest. The activists were given a dismissal and they have to answer for trespassing. The protesters voluntarily ended their campaign, but under the pressure of the police, who paid attention to the peaceful implementation throughout the event. The decision about the fate of the Paviane remains uncertain until further notice.

The Nuremberg Tiergarten has been faced with the challenge for years to control the Pavian population. Despite the use of contraceptives that could only cause sterility among the females for a short time, it was unable to keep the group's social structure stable. Encke explained that despite multiple inquiries to other zoos, the keeping conditions were still not clarifying.

"It is unfortunate that the situation has escalated. We are still trying to find a better solution for the couples," said the director. It is to be hoped that a satisfactory path for everyone involved will be found before a final decision occurs.

The persistent protests of the animal welfare activists show that dealing with animals is also very popular in society and that there is a broad space for discussions about animal welfare and animal husbandry.