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Killing of monkeys at Nuremberg Zoo

News

Heads to be used for “scientific purposes”

On July 29, twelve baboons were killed at Nuremberg Zoo. The heads of the animals are to be used for research purposes. The association Doctors Against Animal Experiments criticized that this case is similar to so-called “surplus animals.” These animals—mainly mice—are bred for animal testing but then killed because they are not “needed.”

The animals killed were Guinea baboons—a species considered endangered in the wild due to habitat loss, hunting, and illegal trade, and listed on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) (1). The zoo stated that the reason for the killing was that the group, with 43 animals, had become too large for the enclosure, which is designed for only 23 animals. Since the zoo intends to continue breeding baboons—supposedly to contribute to species conservation—Zoo Director Dag Enke announced that animals would also be killed in the future to limit group size. “...We are talking about potentially infinitely many animals that would have to be given away or killed,” Enke said in an interview (2,3).

Animal welfare advocates counter that, due to the lack of suitable habitat, there is no possibility of releasing the baboons into the wild and therefore question the purpose of breeding them for species conservation (4). The German Legal Society for Animal Protection Law (DGHT) states that a self-created breeding surplus is not a valid reason for killing the animals and considers the killing to be a criminal offense (5). According to a spokesperson for Berlin Zoo, other zoos refrain from killings as part of breeding management (2).

The baboons were killed by gunshot under anesthesia—allegedly because this is the “most humane” method (6). However, the choice of killing method likely relates to the subsequent “use” of the bodies: the dead baboons were fed to carnivores in the zoo. Before that, tissue samples were taken, including, according to the deputy director of the zoo, the heads of the animals, as skulls and brains are to be used for scientific purposes (7,8).

The research projects in which the tissues are to be used were not named, nor was the purpose of the research. Due to species differences between humans and monkeys, their use in biomedical research would not be meaningful. For primate research, such tissues could also be obtained from animals that died naturally (9).

The killing of the “surplus” baboons, along with the additional justification of “utilizing” the bodies for feeding and scientific purposes, is reminiscent of the handling of so-called surplus animals. These animals, bred for animal research but not used, are killed for economic reasons because keeping them longer or expanding housing facilities is too expensive (10). In 2023, in Germany over 1.3 million animals were killed as “surplus” of the animal testing system (11). Since the German Animal Welfare Act requires a “reasonable cause” for killing vertebrates, the use of the bodies for research or feeding is often cited as justification.

A recent article in a scientific journal discussed the killing and feeding of surplus wild animals in zoos, including monkeys (12). Among the authors, alongside the Nuremberg Zoo director, are employees of Karlsruhe Zoo and Halle Zoo. This suggests that the killing of monkeys will not remain an isolated case in Nuremberg and could also already be planned by other zoos.

While the killing of the twelve baboons in Nuremberg sparked widespread protest, a total of 1,676 monkeys were used in animal experiments in Germany in 2023. Of these, 1,493 animals suffered and died for regulatory purposes such as toxicity testing (11,13). Especially in the field, there are highly advanced animal-free methods that are far superior to tests on our closest relatives (14).

References

  1. Wagner F. Zoo Nürnberg plant Tötung Dutzender Paviane – aus Platzmangel: Proteste eskalieren. Schwäbische Post, 12.07.2025
  2. Pavian-Tötungen in Nürnberger Tierpark: Zoo Berlin setzt auf Verhütung statt Tötung. Tagesschau, 31.07.2025
  3. Salg D. Zoo-Chef will Paviane töten: So verteidigt er seine Pläne. t-online, 15.02.2024
  4. Zodrow L. Zoos wollen mehr Tiere töten. Pro Wildlife, 20.01.2025
  5. Zur gestern stattgefundenen gewaltsamen Tötung von 12 gesunden Pavianen im Tiergarten der Stadt Nürnberg. DJGT, Pressemitteilung, 30.07.2025
  6. Salg D. und Fuchs O. Paviane getötet: So rechtfertigt der Tiergarten seine Entscheidung. t-online, 30.07.2025
  7. Getötete Paviane an Raubtiere im Zoo verfüttert. ZDFheute, 04.08.2025
  8. Getötete Paviane werden ohne Köpfe und Hände verfüttert. t-online, 04.08.2025
  9. Atlas des Schimpansen-Gehirns veröffentlicht. Ärzte gegen Tierversuche, News, 14.06.2024
  10. 4 Millionen Tiere als „Überschuss“ in Tierversuchslaboren getötet. Ärzte gegen Tierversuche, Stellungnahme, 02.08.2021
  11. Animal experimentation statistics. Doctors Against Animal Experiments, 12.12.2024
  12. Clauss M. et al. Zoos must embrace animal death for education and conservation, PNAS 2024, 122(1): e2414565121
  13. Verwendung von Versuchstieren im Berichtsjahr 2023. Bf3R
  14. More accurate predictions for safer drugs. Dorctors Against Animal Experiments, press release, 13.03.2025