DUBLIN ZOO HAS said its female chimpanzees are not on the pill, in a denial of recent media reports.

The zoo was responding to newspaper reports yesterday which suggested that some female chimps were on contraceptive medication to prevent inbreeding.

In a statement to DailyEdge.ie, a spokesperson for Dublin Zoo said:

There are 15 types of primates in Dublin Zoo, 72 primates in total. None of the female primates in Dublin Zoo are on contraception.

The reports arose from a discussion on RTÉ’s Liveline on Monday afternoon, around the euthanasia of a giraffe named Marius at a zoo in Copenhagen.

It was suggested on the show that some of the chimpanzee population at Dublin Zoo were on the contraceptive pill.

Marius, who was six months old and healthy, was shot in the head to avoid the possibility of related giraffes breeding with each other. His body was then fed to tigers and other animals at the zoo.

Copenhagen Zoo scientific director Bengt Holst appeared on the show saying that between 20 and 30 animals are euthanised at the zoo every year, as part of population management.

Zoo kills healthy young giraffe despite protests>