A German zoo has killed a dozen healthy Guinea baboons and fed them to predators. Nuremberg Zoo claimed that it had to kill the captive monkeys as a last resort to address an “increase in conflict” caused by overcrowding.

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.

The Tiergarten Nürnberg Zoo in Southern Germany confirmed that it killed 12 healthy Guinea baboons due to overcrowding issues, prompting backlash from animals rights groups who claimed that they violated animal protection laws by doing so.