Burglars cut the Riverside zoo's boundary fence and used manual tools to force open an ATM between 4am and 6am yesterday.

A small amount of cash was stolen and the ATM destroyed.

Parts of a firearm and ammunition were also stolen in the raid.

Zoo manager Rochelle Penney said security cameras showed the offenders were two men.

``The ATM was clearly in quite a few pieces so they'd obviously pulled the cash drawer out and the top piece off,'' she said.

Ms Penney said it was frustrating that money used to care for the zoo's many animals would have to be diverted into repairs.

She said Tasmania Zoo owner Dick Warren, who lives on the premises, recalled hearing strange noises in the night but shrugged it off as shooters or hoons.

``We are just really hoping that being that time of the morning one of the local people travelling this way saw something,'' Ms Penney said.

The incident follows a break-in in 2012 that saw nine birds brutally slaughtered.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Launceston CIB on 6336 3910 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.