How the Nuremberg Zoo wants to set a dangerous precedent
Nuremberg Zoo is facing an ethical decision that could have far-reaching consequences for the entire German zoo landscape. While over 40 Guinea baboons fear for their lives in the zoo's cramped enclosures, the zoo management under director Dag Encke is trying to set a precedent that could enable all German zoos to simply kill surplus "uninteresting" animals in future - despite the availability of alternatives.
The perfidious system: breed, cash in, kill
The situation is symptomatic of a system that has been treating animals as commodities for decades. Nuremberg Zoo has been keeping Guinea baboons since 1942 and actively breeds them as part of the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP)1. The facility was designed in 2009 for 25 animals - today 45 baboons live there in the same area. 1Tiergarten Nürnberg – Populationsmanagement bei Pavianen 🌐 https://tiergarten.nuernberg.de/zoowissen-co/hintergrundinformationen/zahlen-und-fakten-aus-dem-tiergarten/populationsmanagement-haeufige-fragen
The strategy is cynical: zoos deliberately breed baby animals because they attract paying guests. The cute young animals are the perfect advertisement for alleged "species protection". But when the animals grow up and no longer make a profit, they become a problem. Instead of stopping breeding, the "surplus" animals are simply killed and used as food for other zoo animals.
Dag Encke: The man with the plan
The case is made particularly explosive by the person of zoo director Dag Encke. He was only elected President of the Association of Zoological Gardens (VdZ) - the most powerful zoo association in Germany - in June 2025. 2Verband der Zoologischen Gärten – Neuer Vorstand 🌐 https://www.vdz-zoos.org/aktuelles/neuigkeiten/nachricht/zooverband-vorstand-stellt-sich-neu-auf In this position, he can exert a decisive influence on zoo policy in Germany.
As marine biologist Robert Marc Lehmann reveals in his video, it is no coincidence that the zoo director who wants to kill baboons was elected head of the VdZ. Encke could now apply for a special licence to kill the baboons and obtain it thanks to his new position. 3Robert Marc Lehmann – Hört auf zu lügen! Paviane sollen trotz Alternativen sterben 🌐 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbLoMgva5HM
The Sanctuary Offer: Ignored and denied
While the zoo claims that there are no alternatives, a concrete offer has been made by the Great Ape Project (GAP) and the Wales Ape and Monkey Sanctuary (WAMS). Dr Colin Goldner, coordinator of GAP Germany, has already written to the zoo several times offering to take over the baboons free of charge. 4Great Ape Project – Schutzprojekte 🌐 https://www.greatapeproject.de/schutzprojekte/
In its press release dated 2 July 2025, Tiergarten claims that no concrete offer has been made. This is simply a lie, as the correspondence between GAP and Tiergarten proves. 5Tiergarten Nürnberg – Aktueller Stand Populationsmanagement bei Pavianen 🌐 https://tiergarten.nuernberg.de/entdecken/aktuell/detail/news/aktueller-stand-populationsmanagement-bei-pavianen The sanctuary has even offered to expand the facility and set up a special quarantine centre for the baboons. 6Robert Marc Lehmann – Hört auf zu lügen! Paviane sollen trotz Alternativen sterben 🌐 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbLoMgva5HM
The zoo takes refuge in ridiculous questionnaires about the breeding programme, as it expects to be able to continue breeding with the animals handed over to the sanctuary. Which, of course, it is not allowed to do in any sanctuary in the world, because it was precisely this shit that brought the baboons to the sanctuary in the first place. 7Robert Marc Lehmann – TÖTUNG von PAVIANEN im Zoo Nürnberg? Überzahl als Grund | Robert Marc Lehmann reagiert 🌐 https://youtu.be/exoNQ54zePM?t=1971
The legal grey area is being exploited
This is where it gets particularly perfidious: In Germany, primates may not be killed without good reason according to § 17 of the Animal Welfare Act. 8Tierschutzgesetz § 17 🌐 https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/tierschg/__17.html Killing a vertebrate animal without reasonable cause is a criminal offence punishable by up to three years' imprisonment or a fine.
The animal welfare organisation Pro Wildlife has already announced that it will press charges if the zoo kills the baboons. 9Pro Wildlife – Nürnberger Zoo will gesunde Affen töten 🌐 https://www.prowildlife.de/aktuelles/pressemitteilung/nuernberger-zoo-will-gesunde-affen-toeten/ The organisation argues that the excessive number of baboons and the cramped enclosure could have been avoided if the zoo had planned better.
The precedent with a system
If Nuremberg Zoo receives a special licence to kill the baboons, even though alternatives are available, this would be a dam break. Other zoos with similar problems could refer to this precedent. The perfidious system of breeding, collecting and killing would be legalised.
Other zoos are already keeping a close eye on the situation in Nuremberg. As Lehmann reports in his video, other institutions are already experiencing similar problems with surplus animals. 10Robert Marc Lehmann – Hört auf zu lügen! Paviane sollen trotz Alternativen sterben 🌐 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbLoMgva5HM The Nuremberg case could open Pandora's box.
The ignorance of those responsible
Dag Encke's appearance in the media is also particularly cynical. I could puke in a jet, what a backstabbing animal abuser. Why does animal welfare always have to be such a shitty battle against the windmills of ice-cold arrogance? In television interviews, Encke presents himself as a concerned animal rights activist who has to make difficult decisions. He claims to have examined all options and that there is no other solution. 11Robert Marc Lehmann – Hört auf zu lügen! Paviane sollen trotz Alternativen sterben 🌐 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbLoMgva5HM In doing so, he consistently ignores the available offers from the Sanctuary.
Robert Marc Lehmann has been trying for weeks to contact the zoo by phone to clarify the situation. Nobody answers the phone, nobody wants to talk to him. 12Robert Marc Lehmann – Hört auf zu lügen! Paviane sollen trotz Alternativen sterben 🌐 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbLoMgva5HM This attitude of refusal speaks volumes about the true intentions of the zoo management.
A call to reason
It is not yet too late. Nuremberg Zoo can still make the right decision and hand over the baboons to the sanctuary. This would not only save the animals' lives, but also prevent a dangerous precedent from being set.
We appeal to everyone who has contact with Nuremberg Zoo: Make a contact and explain that there is no point in burying your head in the sand. The offer from Robert Marc Lehmann and the Great Ape Project stands: The baboons can be safely transferred to a sanctuary free of charge.
The public is watching. If these baboons are killed despite the availability of alternatives, this will not be forgotten. Nuremberg Zoo is at a crossroads between animal welfare and profit. We demand: Choose the life of the animals, not the precedent.
Time is running out
Every day counts. While we are discussing this, over 40 Guinea baboons are suffering in cramped enclosures. They can't help the mistakes of the zoo management. They deserve a chance at a better life in the sanctuary, not death by shooting.
The baboons at Nuremberg Zoo have become symbols - symbols of a system that treats animals as commodities. Their fate will decide whether Germany takes the path towards progressive animal welfare or whether we continue to allow profit to take precedence over animal rights.
There is still time to make the right decision. The baboons can still be saved. But only if we act now. I know that I have people in my circle of friends who have direct and indirect contacts with the Nuremberg Zoo. I beg you, no I implore you, to make contact.
Share this post. Share Robert's videos. Boycott zoos. Talk about it with friend and foe. We can't let zoological capitalism win again. Not this time.
Baboon on stone in the National Park of Kenya, Africa (symbolic photo - because I don't want to give the Nuremberg Zoo the opportunity to sue me for using their photos)
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