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Zoo might feed animals to each other to stay afloat during lockdown
The coronavirus is sending this zoo into a feeding frenzy.
One struggling German zoo has devised a heartbreaking proposal to stay afloat while closed over coronavirus concerns — feeding the animals to each other. The tragic announcement comes a month after the nation’s animal sanctuaries begged German Chancellor Angela Merkel for 100 million euros to help care for their critters amid state-mandated social distancing restrictions.
“We’ve listed the animals we’ll have to slaughter first,” Verena Kaspari, director of Neumünster Zoo, tells German newspaper Die Welt, according to BBC. Neumünster belongs to an association and is therefore not entitled to financial relief from the state, leaving the visitor-less zoo with little recourse.
Kaspari didn’t list which animals will be slaughtered, but she says the “unpleasant” cost-cutting measure might not even be enough to offset their losses. Penguins and seals require an exorbitant amount of fish per day to sustain them, and unlike other businesses, zoos can’t go dormant during the pandemic due to animals’ daily feeding and enclosure maintenance requirements.
“If it comes to it, I’ll have to euthanize animals, rather than let them starve,” says Kaspari, who projects that the business could lose almost $200,000 this spring.
The toll isn’t merely financial. Berlin Zoo spokeswoman Philine Hachmeister says the situation is “really boring” for charismatic creatures like seals and apes, who love human visitors.
Some zoos and aquariums have managed to circumvent social distancing concerns by offering virtual safaris that can be enjoyed from the comfort of animal lovers’ homes.
Source: NY Post
The coronavirus is sending this zoo into a feeding frenzy.
One struggling German zoo has devised a heartbreaking proposal to stay afloat while closed over coronavirus concerns — feeding the animals to each other. The tragic announcement comes a month after the nation’s animal sanctuaries begged German Chancellor Angela Merkel for 100 million euros to help care for their critters amid state-mandated social distancing restrictions.
“We’ve listed the animals we’ll have to slaughter first,” Verena Kaspari, director of Neumünster Zoo, tells German newspaper Die Welt, according to BBC. Neumünster belongs to an association and is therefore not entitled to financial relief from the state, leaving the visitor-less zoo with little recourse.
Kaspari didn’t list which animals will be slaughtered, but she says the “unpleasant” cost-cutting measure might not even be enough to offset their losses. Penguins and seals require an exorbitant amount of fish per day to sustain them, and unlike other businesses, zoos can’t go dormant during the pandemic due to animals’ daily feeding and enclosure maintenance requirements.
“If it comes to it, I’ll have to euthanize animals, rather than let them starve,” says Kaspari, who projects that the business could lose almost $200,000 this spring.
The toll isn’t merely financial. Berlin Zoo spokeswoman Philine Hachmeister says the situation is “really boring” for charismatic creatures like seals and apes, who love human visitors.
Some zoos and aquariums have managed to circumvent social distancing concerns by offering virtual safaris that can be enjoyed from the comfort of animal lovers’ homes.
Source: NY Post
