A zoo in the German city of Nurember g said it killed 12 baboons on Tuesday despite protests, capping a saga rooted in concerns that the zoo had too little space to house a growing group of the animals.

A German zoo has killed a dozen healthy Guinea baboons and fed them to predators. Nuremberg Zoo claimed that it had to kill the captive monkeys as a last resort to address an “increase in conflict” caused by overcrowding.

Members of animal protection groups scaled the zoo wall as a last effort to stop the killings, but were swiftly detained