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A zoo in Germany made international headlines on Wednesday after its director said staff may be forced to feed some of the park's animals to other animals as they confront possible financial ruin as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Tierpark Neumünster, which sits between Hamburg and the Danish border in Germany's north, has been closed to paying guests since March 15 as a result of a government order to shut down non-essential businesses in the country.



Director Verena Kaspari told the German Press Agency (DPA) and the Die Welt newspaper that as her zoo struggles to feed its roughly 700 animals amid the financial fallout they have drawn up emergency plans that involve some tough decisions.

"If — and this is really the worst, worst case of all — if I no longer have any money to buy feed, or if it should happen that my feed supplier is no longer able to deliver due to new restrictions, then I would slaughter animals to feed other animals," she said.

Representatives from the zoo did not respond to a request for comment, but a spokesperson confirmed Kaspari's comments to the New York Times. The spokesperson also told the newspaper that the zoo's 12-foot-tall polar bar, Vitus, would sit at the top of the proverbial food chain and be spared.

Kaspari told German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle that endangered animals would not be killed, but that any goats and deer would be first on the slaughter list.

"It's a worst-case scenario," she said. "We don't see it getting that way yet, but we have to think of it early enough."

Other animals at the zoo, according to its website, include alpacas, dingoes, deer, lynxes, seals, reindeer, wildcats, turtles, and chinchillas.