Karlsruhe Zoo Fire: 26 Animals Dead In Germany

BERLIN — Police say a fire at the Karlsruhe zoo in southwestern Germany has killed 26 animals including Shetland ponies, goats, sheep and a llama.

Karlsruhe police said elephants and hippos were saved from their enclosures next to the petting zoo that caught fire and burned down early Saturday.

Some 100 firefighters fought against strong winds that threatened to spread the flames from wooden structures of the petting zoo to neighboring buildings.

Authorities have launched an investigation but no cause has yet been determined. The zoo is temporarily closed to the public.

Comments

[bcmom]

10:32 AM on 11/17/2010

This is sad, but we should try and outlaw animals being sold at flea markets in the U.S.

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=7030053

Anyone heard of Dog Alley in Canton, TX. Now there are some humane conditions. Nothing surprises me about what people do to animals any longer. There are many many flea markets where live animals especially puppies are sold.

http://www.wate.com/Global/story.asp?S=13404638

[idontcareaboutyou]

05:42 PM on 11/16/2010

this was so sad. i cried when i read the title alone! those poor defenseless little creatures. its awful how they suffered because people were so careless.

[pinkeyelemonade]

12:19 AM on 11/16/2010

Tragic is an understatement.
This is going to depress me for several weeks.

[wolfiegirl]

03:20 PM on 11/15/2010

I dreaded reading this article, even though I've seen it on the internet for days. Poor animals. But I'm glad there were no giraffes involved ;)

[feed the enemy]

03:09 PM on 11/15/2010

Petting Zoos should be outlawed.

[Spazoid-droid]

02:29 PM on 11/15/2010

ya this is very sad. we need more programs where kids can spend a few hours at a farm getting to know about the animals. city kids dont want to only see them on tv they want to touch them in real life. i hope this fire turns out to be a accident. most people today just dont care enough about the other animals that share our world with us until something bad like this happens.

[ObscureRenegade]

02:12 PM on 11/15/2010

That's awful.

[MFM008]

01:28 PM on 11/15/2010

very sad. poor creatures. they never have a say in what happens to them.

[Master-T]

12:58 PM on 11/15/2010

Petting zoos are a disgrace and should be outlawed. This is yet MORE evidence of that. Does anyone think the owners cared at all about the welfare of the animals? Of course not. They cared about profits, and now 26 animals died a horrible death as a result.

As a side note, do people even know what happens to animals at petting zoos? They usually live at the petting zoo for one season, and then they are sent to slaughter. Perhaps people should at least be honest with their children and tell them what's going to happen to that goat or cow.

The ONLY place to visit animals is a properly run sanctuary, where they are able to live in an environment as close as possible to their natural habitat. Lots of space, elements that are conducive to their natural behavior. Don't visit petting zoos.

[JC Phoenix]

02:35 PM on 11/15/2010

Right, because it's totally intentional what happened here. I'm sure the owners of the zoo definitely set fire to their own animals and property. Granted, we don't know either way. Therefore, you can't say these deaths are simply attributed to where the animals are. That's like saying people shouldn't live in houses because the can burn down. Understand what I'm saying?

[bryce05]

02:43 PM on 11/15/2010

We're talking about a petting zoo, not a bear bile factory. Get a grip.

[Master-T]

03:21 PM on 11/15/2010

Well since HuffPo decided to yet again delete my comments ....

Since when does one form of cruelty negate another? Perhaps you should google "Petting Zoo Cruelty" and read some of the stories. In short, most petting zoo animals are carted from location to location, denied a normal environment, grossly overfed, and denied basic medical care. If they need significant medical care they are immediately sent to slaughter (for the leather, wool, etc ...) since the cost of caring for an animals is not part of a petting zoo's manadate.

Apparently you think that's ok, I don't.