Tiger cubs killed – PETA files criminal complaint against Leipzig Zoo

The mother Yushka had not cared for her offspring, explained the Zoo.

And further: Hand-rearing was not an option for reasons of species-appropriate wild animal husbandry.

The breeding and keeping of tigers in zoos is a dead end in terms of species conservation, because the animals – whether hand-reared or not – are all so behaviourally disturbed that reintroduction to the wild is not possible. The fact that tiger, lion or chimpanzee mothers repeatedly fail to accept their own babies is, in its frequency, a purely zoo phenomenon and attributable to the completely deplorable conditions of captivity. A life in zoo captivity is not a life worth living, as it offers wild animals nothing that is natural and important to them. In order to have the legality of the killing of the three tiger cubs examined, and to break the vicious cycle of breeding and killing, we will be filing a criminal complaint with the Leipzig public prosecutor's office against those responsible in the coming days. We demand an immediate halt to these pointless breeding programmes, as Siberian tigers have no place in Leipzig. Putting them on display, particularly cute baby animals, is a pure ‘audience attraction’ and serves primarily commercial purposes. The many millions of euros that zoos receive each year from public funds must in future be directed into genuine species conservation projects that protect the animals and their natural habitats. – Peter Höffken, specialist adviser at PETA Deutschland e.V.

Amur tigers are the largest big cats in the world and are threatened with extinction. In Leipzig, the International Tiger Studbook, which records populations in human care, has been maintained since the 1970s.

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