20. 09. 10. - 12:00

Rhino carer fired over hash plantation

A zoo worker has been fired after he was found growing cannabis in the rhino enclosure.

Salzburg Hellbrunn Zoo director Sabine Grebner said today (Mon): "It’s horrible! We never thought such a thing was possible. We are here for families and kids – and we don’t have anything to do with drugs."

Police said the 59-year-old rhinoceros carer kept 33 marijuana plants in a part of the enclosure which is hidden from visitors’ view, adding that they acted on an anonymous tip-off by "customer" of the offender.

The man also faces charges for illegally possessing weapons after officers found a gun and a shotgun in his flat.

This comes just days after it was reported that an Upper Austrian shopkeeper, 28, faces charges for growing and selling cannabis crops as "decorative plants" in his specialised "exotic plants" store in Gmunden.