Dadar zoo shut after probe, seven exotic, protected animals seized; officials plan to lodge case

During the course of the investigation, the forest officials found several exotic animals, alongside soft shell turtles which are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act (1972). Furthermore, an amendment introduced in 2023 now also protects the exotic species under the WPA, with officials stating that exotic animals fall under appendix 1, 2 and 3 of the Act’s Schedule IV.

“When we visited the facility, the owners were not present. We found the exotic species and asked the staff to provide details about the zoo as well as the papers pertaining to the animals. Since the staff failed to provide any papers, we seized the animals, whose medical check-up will now be conducted,” said an official.

According to officials, the seven animals seized from the zoo include two Argentinian black and white Tegu, one ball python, one African ball python, one soft shell turtle, one common snapping turtle and one cuckoo.

Sonal Valvi, Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF), told The Indian Express, “After the team of officials conducted an inquiry, they found some exotic animals, which have been seized. We are now conducting further investigation and are in the process of registering an offence under the applicable sections.”

Meanwhile, a day after inspection, the Dadar zoo wore a deserted look as the zoo closed its doors for visitors on Friday. Express found animals like rabbits, turkeys, ducks, some birds like Macau and some species of fish housed within the zoo premises.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Yuvraj Moghe, the proprietor of the zoo, said the facility has been shut and they have commenced the process of dismantling some structures inside the facility, which is sprawled over an area of 2,050 sq m in the heart of the city.

“We have shut the zoo and have started cleaning up the space. We have already started demolishing the structures inside the zoo. The land was handed over to our trust, WWNF, in 1983 and after the BMC filed a dispute, the Supreme Court also upheld that the premises would be handled by our trust,” said Moghe.

Operational since 2022, the zoo ran as a commercial facility, where visitors were charged an entry fee alongside additional charges for holding the animals. This is not the facility’s first brush with controversy with the zoo first making the news in early 2023, after officials seized soft-shell turtles, plum-headed parakeets and other species protected under the WPA Act 1972. Following this, in late 2023, the BMC lodged a complaint against the facility after a baby crocodile was rescued from the adjacent civic-run Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Olympic Swimming Pool and later, razed several unauthorised structures.