German Zoo May Feed Some Inmates to Other Animals as it Struggles Without Funding During Coronavirus Lockdown
A German zoo may have to turn some of their inmates to food for other animals of the zoo. They have to take the drastic step as the supply chain to the zoo was badly affected. Neumünster Zoo in northern Germany is home to more than 700 animals and has over 100 species.
Coronavirus pandemic has affected countries across the world negatively. The disease has not only killed people but also affected their daily bread. And due to the unfortunate situation, a German zoo is considering taking a drastic step. With their supply chain to the zoo being badly affected, they may have to turn some of their inmates to food for other animals of the zoo. Neumünster Zoo in northern Germany is home to more than 700 animals and has over 100 species. With no other option in sight, zoo director Verena Kaspari told German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) said that they may have to euthanize some animals as a part of cost-cutting to keep the zoo going. Coronavirus Fears: Animals at Ahmedabad Zoo Barred From Sexual Intercourse, Kept in Separate Cages to Prevent Mating.
They are planning to resort to the extreme measure as zoo shut down on March 15 stopping the revenue that came from tickets bought by visitors. They have been since then operating on donations. Kaspari told the news agency, "If -- and this is really the worst, worst case of all -- if I no longer have any money to buy feed, or if it should happen that my feed supplier is no longer able to supply due to new restrictions, then I would slaughter animals to feed other animals." Kaspari said that she would rather euthanize the animals in the zoo that keep them starving. Tiger Nadia Tests Positive for Coronavirus in New York Zoo: From Dogs to Cats, Here's The List of Animals Infected by COVID-19 in Different Parts of The World.
They are planning to resort to the extreme measure as zoo shutdown on March 15 stopping their revenue that came from tickets bought by visitors. Since then they have been operating on donations. The German government has started rolling out economic rescue package worth up to $825 billion. "We're an association and don't get any city money, and all the state money we've applied for so far hasn't arrived yet," Kaspari told DPA.
The Association of Zoological Gardens (VdZ), a Berlin-based zoo association with members in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Spain, has asked Chancellor Angela Merkel for €100 million in emergency aid. VdZ represents 56 zoos in Germany, including Neumünster Zoo. VdZ President Jörg Junhold said in a statement, "A possible loss of this valuable animal population would be a bitter setback for our struggle to conserve biodiversity and would therefore, amount to a catastrophe." The association highlighted that unlike other facilities which are shutdown during the pandemic, zoos cannot limit their operations as animals have to be fed and taken care for.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 16, 2020 01:07 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).