Krefeld (dpa/lnw) - Three years after the fire in the monkey house on New Year's Eve in the Krefeld zoo, the city council will decide on Thursday whether to construct a new building for great apes. A monkey park species protection center is to be gradually built on the zoo grounds over the next few years. The costs are estimated at almost 33 million euros.
Around 50 animals died in the major fire on New Year's Eve 2020. Among them were eight great apes who were crowd favorites and had lived at the zoo for many years. A group of gorillas and two chimpanzees survived the fire. The fire was triggered by a sky lantern that was ignited during the New Year's fireworks display and set the roof of the monkey house on fire.
The fire had caused widespread horror and grief. Candles, cuddly toys and farewell letters were placed on a large area in front of the zoo. Many people donated to keep the monkeys in the zoo, animal rights activists protested against the "monkey prison". Soon after the accident, the city and the zoo campaigned for the animals to be kept in a modern way over a larger area.
Funding for the monkey park is said to come from a variety of sources. A part consists of insurance funds. The zoo, zoo friends and the city are also involved. At the end of 2021, costs of 28 million euros were calculated. At that time, according to the city, the project was still in the preliminary planning stage. The fact that costs of around 32.8 million are now expected is due to an increase in construction costs.
