Giraffes, the least thought victims of the absence of agreement at Brexit

Seventy three "Okapi", an endangered species of the Democratic Republic of the Congo with a brown body and zebra striped legs, they live in the zoos of the European Union, where the rules of free movement support a animal breeding project between countries.

But if the UK, which has 15, leaves the bloc without a transition agreement, it will probably be excluded from the project, according to Sander Hofman, general curator of Antwerp Zoo in Belgium, who coordinates the transfer of the Okapi for breeding purposes.

"Brexit is very bad news for conservation farms," ​​Hofman told the zoo. "Fifteen of my 73 (okapi) are in the UK. You can imagine that if I had to eliminate these 15 people, it would be a blow to my population"he added.

In the European Union, about 350 zoos are part of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), which allows the transport of animals in the block for breeding purposes. The UK is a major player, with some 40 member zoos, including Chester, one of the largest in Europe. But EAZA advises zoos to transfer animals that need to be shipped to the UK as quickly as possible in the case of a Brexit, which would require a painstaking rewrite of the rules for re-entry into the Breeding Program.