On Tuesday, July 29, 2025, the Tiergarten Nürnberg Zoo in southern Germany carried out the euthanasia of 12 healthy Guinea baboons, igniting a wave of protests and legal challenges from animal rights groups. The zoo’s decision, which had been announced initially in February 2024, was driven by the overcrowding of the baboon enclosure, which was designed to accommodate 25 adults plus their young but had swelled to over 40 animals. This overpopulation led to increased conflicts among the primates, resulting in injuries and heightened stress within the group.
The zoo’s management explained that they had exhausted all alternatives before resorting to culling. According to Zoo Director Dag Encke, attempts to relocate surplus baboons to other facilities failed because potential recipient zoos in Paris, China, and Spain had reached their own capacity limits. Furthermore, efforts to control the population through contraception were abandoned years ago after proving ineffective. Encke also stated that releasing the baboons into the wild or expanding the enclosure was not feasible. The zoo had been housing the baboons in a facility built in the late 2000s, which had already undergone an expansion in 2009 but still could not accommodate the growing troop.
Encke defended the decision as a "sensible" and "necessary" measure to maintain a healthy population, emphasizing that it followed "yearslong consideration" and complied with guidelines from the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA). He noted that culling can be a "legitimate last resort to preserve the population" when no other options remain viable. The zoo’s deputy director, Jörg Beckmann, added that the baboons selected for euthanasia were neither pregnant females nor part of scientific studies. The animals were humanely shot, with samples taken for research purposes, and their bodies were subsequently fed to the zoo’s carnivores, a practice the zoo regularly undertakes with other surplus animals.
Despite these explanations, the move sparked fierce backlash from animal welfare and rights organizations. Groups such as Pro Wildlife, the German Animal Welfare Association, and the German Legal Society for Animal Protection Law announced plans to file criminal complaints against the zoo’s management. They argue that the killings violated the Animal Welfare Act and that the zoo’s breeding management had been irresponsible and unsustainable for decades.
Laura Zodrow, spokesperson for Pro Wildlife, condemned the zoo’s actions, stating, "Healthy animals had to die because a zoo bred irresponsibly for decades and failed to develop sustainable solutions. This killing was avoidable and, from our point of view, is unlawful." She warned that the culling could set a "dangerous example," potentially normalizing the killing of unwanted animals in zoos beyond this single species. Zodrow called on politicians to tighten regulations governing zoos and their breeding programs to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Christoph Maisack, head of the German Legal Association for Animal Protection Law, added a legal perspective, noting that animal welfare laws permit euthanasia only if there is a "reasonable cause." He argued that "letting them breed too freely cannot constitute such a reason," highlighting the contention that the zoo’s management had failed to responsibly control the baboon population.
The German Animal Welfare Association also criticized the zoo, describing the killing as a breach of a societal taboo. They emphasized that "the responsibility for animals that are kept and bred in zoos does not end where it becomes inconvenient in terms of space, finances, or organization." Their statement underscored fears that such actions could lead to more routine culling practices in zoos, which often breed surplus animals as food for carnivores like lions and tigers.
On the day of the cull, the zoo was closed to the public for unspecified "operational reasons," which many interpreted as preparation for the euthanasia. Animal rights activists staged significant protests, with some scaling fences to enter the zoo grounds. Police detained seven activists, including a woman who glued her hands to the ground inside the entrance. The organization Animal Rebellion also called for protests against the killings outside the zoo.
The controversy recalls previous high-profile cases of animal culling in European zoos that triggered public outrage. Notably, in 2014, Copenhagen Zoo killed a healthy two-year-old giraffe named Marius, then publicly butchered the carcass and fed it to lions in front of visitors, including children. Similar incidents, such as the recent culling of a zebra in Leipzig in 2023, have kept the debate over zoo animal management and ethics in the public eye.
Director Encke acknowledged that euthanasia and feeding surplus animals to predators is a common practice in zoos but suggested the outcry over the baboons might be more intense because of their close genetic relationship to humans. Guinea baboons are classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and are kept in zoos globally for species conservation. However, Encke explained that relocating Nuremberg’s baboons to protected areas in West Africa was not an option, as populations there have also surged, leaving no available space.
Since 2011, the Nuremberg Zoo had transferred 16 baboons to other zoos in Paris and China in an attempt to manage the population. Still, with the recipient zoos reaching capacity and contraception failing, the zoo found itself with limited options. The overcrowding not only caused stress and aggression among the baboons but also led to injuries, intensifying concerns about animal welfare within the enclosure.
The Nuremberg Zoo’s decision and the ensuing protests highlight the complex ethical and practical dilemmas zoos face in managing captive animal populations. Balancing animal welfare, conservation goals, and logistical constraints is no easy feat, especially when public sentiment and legal frameworks come into play. As animal rights groups push for stricter regulations and greater transparency, the debate over humane animal management in zoos is far from settled.
