Krefeld (dpa / lnw) - The city council of Krefeld has made the fundamental decision to build a 33 million euro facility for great apes in the city zoo. Three years after a devastating fire in the monkey house, the course was set for the planned monkey park species protection center. The decision was made with a large majority in the city council, said a spokesman for the city of Krefeld on Thursday evening.
The zoo plans to gradually build outdoor and indoor enclosures for gorillas, orangutans and chimpanzees over the coming years. The city council released an initial amount of 13.3 million euros on Thursday. Financing should rest on various pillars. Part comes from insurance funds. The zoo itself and the Association of Zoo Friends are also involved.
Around 50 animals died in the major fire on New Year's Eve 2020, including eight great apes who were crowd favorites and who had lived at the zoo for many years. A group of gorillas and two chimpanzees were not injured. The animals continue to live in the zoo.
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 sadness. Many people donate money. Animal rights activists protested in principle against the keeping of great apes.
Soon after the accident, the city and zoo campaigned for the animals to be kept in a modern way over a larger area. At the end of 2021, expenditure of 28 million euros had been calculated. The city explained that costs of around 32.8 million are now expected to be due to an increase in construction costs.
