Lübeck Zoo

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Sign for the now closed zoo (2010)
Guanaco

The zoo in Lübeck was a privately operated zoo that was founded in 1950 and existed until 2010. It had an area of ​​2.8 hectares.

The zoo was located in a bird sanctuary on Waldstrasse in the Hasselbruch of Israelsdorf, northwest of Bundesstrasse 75 in the St. Gertrud district .

history

In 1950, the trainer Lotte Walther founded an animal park, initially on a site on Sandberg. Initially, the inventory included seven lions , three bears , a wolf , two silver foxes , three monkeys, horses, ponies and other animals. In April 1952 the zoo moved to the site in Israelsdorf, which was initially leased for ten years. A prominent visitor was Heinz Rühmann in March 1953 to familiarize himself with Lotte Walther's lions, who appeared with him in one of his films.

Lotte Walther's own herd of animals grew to 19 in 1955 with a lioness owned by a woman from Hamburg, plus wild boars , a rhesus monkey and wild animals. In the further 1950s, the number of animals rose to 200. In February 1964, Bernhard Grzimek spoke out in an open letter in favor of an expansion of the zoo and grants from the Hanseatic City of Lübeck. During this time, the zoo had 60,000 to 80,000 visitors a year. A fundraising campaign that brought in 80,000 marks in 1965 ensured the zoo's continued existence. In 1967 the city of Lübeck provided 1.8 hectares of its own property for the zoo, which was expanded over the years and inaugurated in 1973 with 3000 visitors.

On July 1, 1976, after Lotte Walther's death, the married couple Waltraut and Günter Lehmeniek, who had already worked there, took over the zoo and managed it until it was closed. At an open house in October 1984, the zoo had 8,000 visitors.

Because of animal cruelty , the anti-animal experimentation association demanded that the zoo be closed in 1993, but the Senate of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck in October 1993 advocated continuation. In a publication in the magazine Stern in July 2000, experts described the zoo as the worst facility in Germany.

Over the years Patrick Lindner , Carlo von Tiedemann , Jan Hofer , André Parker and Peter Oertling took on animal sponsorships . Carlo von Tiedemann was anonymously harassed and threatened several times after he had taken on the sponsorship of the brown bear "Bruno", who had come to the zoo from a circus.

The citizens of Lübeck decided on February 22nd, 2001 to redesign the zoo for animal welfare . In 2006, two tigers, which Brigitte Bardot's foundation had housed there, came to the zoo for one year . In 2008 the citizenship decided to liquidate it . In June 2009, the Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of the Environment determined that the zoo fulfilled EU animal husbandry requirements. In November of that year, the city council decided to terminate the lease agreement for the site at the end of 2011.

On October 31, 2010, the zoo was closed before the lease expired, after the operator and the Hanseatic City of Lübeck had agreed on this date. The association “Tiergartenfreunde Lübeck”, the German Animal Welfare Association , represented by its President Wolfgang Apel , recently called for its closure to be preserved.

Some of the animals went to the “Noah's Ark” animal park in Grömitz , and two chimpanzees went to a sanctuary in Wales .

In 2016, the partly dilapidated buildings on the site were demolished. For the demolition work, 20 trees were felled and shrubs were removed, which caused irritation among residents.

Brown bear "Bruno"

Brown bear "Bruno", former circus bear

The best known animal in the park was the brown bear "Bruno". He was born in 1976 and had been used in various circuses before he was admitted to the zoo in 1987. The whereabouts of “Brunos” was initially unclear after the zoo was closed.

The German Law Society for Animal Protection (DJGT) called for early December 2010, the immediate euthanasia of the animal on the grounds that it was ill, and for the postponement of lulling lacked a reasonable basis. After a visit to the zoo on October 19, 2010, a veterinarian on behalf of the DJGT found in an expert opinion that Bruno suffered from osteoarthritis , showed changes in behavior due to pain and had tumors in his mouth, which is why he could no longer care for his fur.

In Liibeck there was some sharp opposition to the demand to put Bruno to sleep. He is only old and as the oldest brown bear living in captivity, he has “chances of getting into the Guinness Book of Records ”. City officials and the official veterinarian in charge cited the International Zoo Veterinary Group's Veterinary Visit Report of November 4, 2010, which recommended accommodation in an appropriate new facility; euthanasia is not the best option. A veterinarian from the Hagenbeck zoo spoke out in favor of letting the vets decide who knew Bruno best.

On May 28, 2011, Bruno was brought to the Müritz Bear Forest on the Plauer See . In the facility operated by the animal welfare organization Vier Pfoten in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, bears are kept in a 16-hectare outdoor enclosure. In the bear forest Müritz, Bruno was put to sleep on July 30, 2011 with the consent of Günter Lehmeniek, after his condition had deteriorated increasingly since July 27. Lehmeniek took the view that Bruno had not settled in in the bear forest and that he suffered from homesickness , which led to his death.

literature

  • Peer Hellerling: The silence before the end . In: Lübecker Nachrichten of October 28, 2010, p. 14 online version
  • Kai Dordowski: 60 turbulent years: the lion came in the Cadillac . In: Lübecker Nachrichten of October 28, 2010, p. 15

Web links

Commons : Tierpark Lübeck  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Zoo: Jan Hofer takes on sponsorship In: Lübecker Nachrichten of June 5, 1998, p. 14
  2. ^ Animal lovers from politics and show business In: Lübecker Nachrichten of October 29, 2010, p. 13
  3. ↑ Sabine Risch: “Bruno's” godfather: Zoo opponents threatened me at night In: Lübecker Nachrichten of October 29, 2010, p. 12
  4. ↑ Oliver Vogt: Zoo fights for the tigers of the Bardot In: Lübecker Nachrichten of May 31, 2007, p. 13
  5. ↑ Press release from July 16, 2009 ( Memento of the original from December 27, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.tierschutzbund.de
  6. ↑ Torsten Teichmann: Bye-bye, Bruno! In: Lübecker Nachrichten of November 2, 2010, p. 13
  7. ^ Tomma Petersen: In the middle of the bird sanctuary: demolition work has started . In: Lübecker Nachrichten , November 9, 2016, p. 15.
  8. ↑ Josephine von Zastrow: "Bruno" should die In: Lübecker Nachrichten of December 2, 2010, p. 1
  9. ↑ Josefine von Zastrow: Expert opinion ignites new dispute about "Bruno" In: Lübecker Nachrichten of December 2, 2010, p. 11
  10. ^ Ilka Mertz, Josephine von Zastrow: Lübeck official veterinarian defends himself against the "Bruno" report . In: Lübecker Nachrichten of December 3, 2010, p. 12
  11. ↑ Josefine von Zastrow: The Müritz Bear Forest becomes "Bruno's" new home In: Lübecker Nachrichten of May 18, 2011, p. 11
  12. ↑ Kai Dordowsky: "Bruno" has arrived in his new home In: Lübecker Nachrichten of May 31, 2011, p. 9
  13. ↑ Gallery on Facebook
  14. ↑ Report from Vier Pfoten  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.vier-pfoten.de  
  15. ↑ Michael Hollinde, Josephine von Zastrow: Brown bear "Bruno" is dead: mourning Lübeck's darling . In: Lübecker Nachrichten of August 2, 2011, p. 9
  16. ↑ Tim Jelonnek: "Our 'Bruno' died of homesickness". In: Lübecker Nachrichten of August 12, 2011, p. 10

Coordinates: 53 ° 53 ′ 45.2 "  N , 10 ° 44 ′ 17.9"  E