GERMANY: Five chimpanzees are at the centre of a tug-of-love drama in Berlin. Gusta, Lilly, Karel, Pedro and Soko, all aged between 14 and 24, are to be deported to China because there's no room for them in the monkey house.
Animal rights groups are fighting to keep them in Europe, arguing that the animals could end up as "pieces of furniture".
"Our monkey house is too overcrowded," said Mr Jürgen Lange, director of Berlin Zoo, home to 342 apes and chimps. He said the five animals are being moved to make room for recently-born pygmy chimps.
When no zoo in Europe offered to take them, authorities decided to send the five chimps to Bejing, a move that has incensed local animal rights activists who accuse the zoo authorities of ageism.
"They were cute when they were young, but now that they're old they're being heartlessly put out to pasture," said Ms Daniela Freyer, spokesperson for the group.
Mr Peter Rahn, scientific head of the zoo, rejected the charges of ageism. "Certainly they sit in their corner or take it easy at times," he said. "But it's the same with humans who hit age 30. Children bound around with a more energy than middle aged people. It's the same with the animals." Wildlife activists say the conditions in Chinese zoos will kill the animals within months.
Germany's top-selling newspaper, Bild, has joined the controversy, starting a "Save our Elderly Apes" campaign.
"They're lovely animals even if they don't hop around like they used to," said Ms Hannelore Dietrich (77), who has visited the ape house nearly every day for 20 years. "It's not a very nice thing to do." But not all Berliners are as soft-hearted.
"It's a sad story," said Mr Rainer Seibt, a 59-year-old bus driver. "But if the chimps just sit around doing nothing, that's not good either. We've all got to earn our keep."
