A zoo in the southern German city of Nuremberg has culled 12 healthy Guinea baboons due to overcrowding in their enclosure, after which they were fed to predators.
Seven animal rights activists were arrested on Tuesday after they entered the Tiergarten Nürnberg zoo in protest against the decision. One woman glued her hands to the ground near the entrance.
Overcrowding had caused an "increase in conflicts" between the baboons and no alternative for re-housing them could be found, the zoo said.
Christoph Maisack, head of the German Legal Association for Animal Protection Law, said letting the animals breed too freely "cannot constitute such a reason" for their killing.
The zoo in Nuremberg had announced plans to kill some Guinea baboons last year, after its population exceeded 40 - more than the 25 that could be housed by a complex completed in 2009.
