Paul Horton has looked after Wellington Zoo's big animals for nine years, but if it came to the crunch he'd shoot them dead in a second.

Mr Horton is in charge of the zoo's carnivores, and is one of a team of sharpshooters trained to deal with animal emergencies.

The zoo must follow Agriculture and Forestry Ministry rules that list animals that must be killed immediately if human safety is threatened. Chimpanzees, baboons, lions, tigers, African wild dogs and Malayan sun bears are all in the firing line.

Zoo chief executive Karen Fifield said the chimps had been identified as most dangerous because of their immense strength combined with their inquisitive and adventurous nature.

Ms Fifield briefed residents about the zoo's emergency response procedures at an informal meeting in April after one neighbour raised concerns following the Christchurch earthquake.

In an emergency, staff will shoot to kill – a standard policy in many zoos as maiming or tranquillising is seen as unethical and often ineffective.

At least one trained sharpshooter is on hand at the zoo at all times, including Mr Horton, who lives on site.

Mr Horton said it would be tough to shoot the animals he works with every day, but if it came to the crunch he would have no hesitation – even his favourites, the baboons. "Absolutely. Male baboons are on the shoot-to-kill list because they're pretty fast, and they've got big teeth."

General operations manager Mauritz Basson said he chose shooters based on their "strong demeanour".

"It's one thing to shoot a paper target, but it's different when you are looking in the eye an animal that you look after day to day. So you have to pick people with strong demeanour who are going to listen to their brain over their heart. It's like slaughtering the pet lamb for Christmas."

Mr Basson said no dangerous animals had escaped during his 10 years at the zoo, but there were two red panda escapes before his arrival. Both were recovered safely, but not before several reports of "strange looking cats" were made to local authorities.

The zoo's most famous animal escape was in 1967 when tigers Napoleon and Josephine roamed the streets of Newtown one night.

More than 100 people, including police, zoo staff and a touring circus troupe, helped search for the animals, which were both shot and killed.

Mr Basson said even less ferocious animals like the giraffes were potential killers, and could be shot dead if human safety was in question.

"If a giraffe managed to get out on a Sunday afternoon with hundreds of people around, it could just as easily kill by running into people or trampling them.

"You don't want a string of dead or mauled people behind a giraffe, so in that case you would shoot it."