AHIMSA says no more animals at zoo

May 5: AHIMSA, an animal rights group, has claimed that Veermata Jijabai Bhonsle Udyan Zoo has been denied permission by the Central Zoo Au...

May 5: AHIMSA, an animal rights group, has claimed that Veermata Jijabai Bhonsle Udyan Zoo has been denied permission by the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) to acquire new animals. AHIMSA, in a press release recently said they were informed of the decision by S C Mishra, Member Secretary of the CZA. Zoo authorities, when contacted, denied any knowledge of this decision.

Earlier, in a report to the CZA, AHIMSA had charged the zoo authorities of mental and physical abuse of animals. The report had claimed that the animals were denied freedom of movement and good food. Three of the four kangaroos acquired by the zoo from Japan in September last year had died few days after they were brought here. The tragedy had brought into sharp focus the poor facilities at the zoo.

A L Paranjpe, the zoo’s education and public relations officer, however maintains the deaths were unavoidable.

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He claimed that the kangaroos carried a virus called Pasturilla which caused their their death. “Animals take some time to adjust to new surroundings and during this period their resistance to diseases is reduced,” he said.

The AHIMSA report also calls attention to the missing tail of a tiger in the zoo. The monotony of captivity, the report says, had made the animal to concentrate upon the injury to such an extent that the wound never got cured. The authorities, however dismiss the allegation as pure bunkum.

“No animal cuts off such a sensitive part of its body, because it is bored,” said Paranjpe. He added that the tiger was brought to the zoo from Rewa with an injured tail and that the injury had nothing to do with the institution. AHIMSA has also accused the zoo authorities of not paying enough attention to the breeding programmes. AHIMSA wants the zoo to be closed down and converted into a `care for life’ shelter. They also demanded that all the animals should be rehabilitated if possible, and if not, be allowed to stay in the zoo without being a showpiece.