A zoo in northern Germany, which drew up a startling contingency plan if the financial strain caused by the government-ordered shutdown because of the coronavirus outbreak did not ease up soon: Slaughter some zoo animals and feed them to others.
The director of the zoo, Tierpark Neumünster, about an hour’s drive north of Hamburg, told the German news agency DPA that such measures would be carried out only as a last resort.
The director of the zoo, Tierpark Neumünster told that such measures would be carried out only as a last resort.
“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 deliver due to new restrictions, then I would slaughter animals to feed other animals,” the director, Verena Kaspari, was quoted as saying.
The zoo’s drastic proposal appeared to be an attempt not only to call attention to its dire financial situation but also to lay out a blueprint to keep some of its precious attractions during a pandemic the likes of which has not been seen in modern memory. Some zoos have been known to cull healthy animals to prevent inbreeding, and nature preserves occasionally have open hunting season to thin herds.
Bauer, who also leads the German Zoo Society, admitted that since part of his budget comes from the city of Dessau, he has to worry less about costs, even without paying visitors. His zoo also does not have penguins or polar bears, which are expensive to keep.
The zoo, which before the lockdown drew about 150,000 visitors annually, had relied on paying customers to stay open, Kaspari explained to the news agency. But that revenue stream dried up when it had to close March 15 because of the national shutdown.