Live chickens slaughtered during opera

Live chickens have been strangled during a performance at Bonn's opera house.

Audience members watching Rossini's The Barber of Seville were shocked when they realised the birds killed in act two were real.

Mayor Baerbel Dieckmann said she could not understand the decision to use live birds.

An opera house spokeswoman says they've been surprised by the response.

Reports claim the mayor said: "I'm convinced the opera has able props people who can easily make some fake chickens."

Opera spokeswoman Cornelia Nattermann said: "We haven't yet decided whether we will stop using chickens from a local farmer and fall back on fake ones."

Bonn's opera may face criminal charges, prosecutor Fred Apostel said. Under German animal protection rights, animals must only be killed for understandable reasons.

He said: "If we find this rule has been violated, those responsible may face a jail sentence of up to two years. They can definitely expect to pay a severe fine."