The Calcutta High Court on Thursday is likely to hear a petition filed by a city-based voluntary organisation, Swazon, seeking a probe into alleged “overnight disappearance of over 300 animals” from the records of Alipore Zoological Garden, the country’s oldest zoo. The petition claimed that the number of animals in the zoo was 672 at the end of the 2023-24 financial year, and it came down to 351 by the beginning of the 2024-25 financial year. “…That is, 321 animals disappeared in just one night… The unexplained vanishing of animals, including those classified as endangered, suggests either gross negligence or intentional suppression of facts,” the petition stated. The Swajon said that neither the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), nor the West Bengal Zoo Authority (WBZA), nor the administration of the Alipore Zoo has issued any public statement, filed any report addressing these discrepancies. “Given that the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) disburses funds to the West Bengal Zoo Authority (WBZA) for the management of zoos, and that both are publicly funded bodies, these unexplained disappearances of animals demand immediate audit and investigation,” it added. According to the NGO, there are severe and unexplained inconsistencies in animal stock figures at the zoo. “For instance, while the total number of animals as on 03.03.2011 was 1452, the number dwindled to a mere 672 by 31.03.2024. Furthermore, the annual inventory of the CZA shows that between the closing stock on 31.03.2017 (1,186 animals) and the opening stock on 01.04.2017 (910 animals), a total of 276 animals were unaccounted for overnight. The West Bengal Zoo Authority's figures show an even more staggering discrepancy of 302 animals during the same transition,” it said. “More recently, in 2022, the closing stock of endangered animals was reported as 190, but the opening stock on 01.04.2022 was merely 131, showing a difference of 59 animals of endangered species without any explanation,” it added. At a press conference on Wednesday, attended by former Rajya Sabha member and IAS officer, Jawahar Sircar, the Swajon alleged that the state government was “intentionally downsizing” the zoo to auction off a section of its land. “There is a deep conspiracy behind the reduction in the animal population. Allegations are that about 3 acres of land at 34A, Belvedere Road of Alipore Zoo is being sold for commercial use. However, this land is where the zoo's veterinary hospital, rescue center, and a public aquarium are located,” Swajon’s Mahalaya Chatterjee said. An e-tender posted by the West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation last month invited bids for auction of a piece of land on 34A, Belvedere Road, Alipore, for “commercial use”, the NGO cited. "The state government has to explain to the people what exactly happened? This is either a major negligence or discrepancy,” Sircar said. "In the government document, I saw they mentioned a marine aquarium will be built in this area. The question arises why a marine aquarium need be built in the centre of the city. Why not in a coastal area?” Sircar added. Mahalaya Chatterjee of Swajon said, "This is part of a greater conspiracy. The zoo means not only entertainment or animals. It is also necessary for ecological balance. In the Alipore zoo area, around 50 per cent of land is green or wetland. If we harm such an ecology, it will severely hurt our city.” The Alipore zoo authority refused to comment, saying the matter is sub-judice. The director in-charge of the zoo, Arun Mukherjee, said, “Whatever information we have, we have submitted in court. We have the primary data source. It is a sub-judice matter. So, I do not wish to comment on it.” Sources in the Forest Department said a report has been sought from the Alipore zoo into the alleged discrepancies in the number of animals within two weeks.
