Sacked zookeeper gets paid despite animal feast
Date: 11-Nov-02
Country: GERMANY
The town of Recklinghausen, north of Cologne, fired the zookeeper after he was caught barbecuing five Tibetan mountain chickens and two Cameroonian sheep at the zoo, popular with children who were allowed to stroke the animals.
The man, employed at the zoo since 1997, challenged the dismissal saying he had not been given the six-months notice stipulated in his contract.
The town agreed to pay him six months wages but said he need not return to work, according to the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper in Recklinghausen. Germany's laws make it extremely difficult for employers to fire workers.
