Ministry left holding babies as Maneka’s ark of animals overflows

And now the Animal Welfare Department (AWD) is dipping into its kitty and paying the circuses Rs 20 lakh a month to feed the animals till some alternate arrangements are made for the hapless animals. The first cheque for Rs 20 lakh was paid to the Circus Federation early this month.

“I’m really saddened by what’s happening.” said Gandhi. “I wake up thinking about what to do. Meanwhile, I will continue to pay for the animals as long as it takes to reach a decision on where to put them.”

The fears that thecircus owners may pocket the money and the animals may starve or even die from lack of care is what is worrying the Minister. “But I have warned them that if even a single animal is found emaciated, then severe punishment would follow,” she said.

The backdrop to the issue goes back to 1991, when Gandhi was Minister for Environment and Forests. A notice was issued banning circuses from parading the five categories of animals in their shows.

The motives for the ban were noble enough. Animal activists have long felt that the training of circus animals is cruel, with harsh punishments meted out to them till they learn the tricks of the trade. The constant moves from town to town also caused immense suffering to the animals in their cramped cages.

The circuses immediately obtained a stay from the High Court. Later, a committee was constituted which went into the issue, and seven years later, in October 1998 a fresh notification was issued. Once again the circuses challenged the order, but on December 16the Delhi High Court ruled that the animal act was over.

A final hearing is scheduled for February 3, but the circus owners have resigned themselves that the notification will not be lifted. If they have to surrender the animals anyway, they see no reason to continue feeding and tending to the animals which can no longer be a circus attraction.

But the AWB, newly-shifted to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, has nowhere to house these animals either. In 1991 when the issue first came up, the Wildlife Board, the apex body directly under the Prime Minister’s office, was supposed to set up animal rescue centres. Three sites were identified, but no work was done and today these sites have not even been fenced in.

Since the animals have been removed from their natural habitats, they would not survive very long if they were released back into the wild. The answer, the AWB decided, would lie in accommodating them in the nearly 300 zoos in the country.

The AWB then thought of dispersing one ortwo animals to each zoo as a way out of the problem. But the CZA have not warmed to the suggestion. “The matter can be sorted out in 15 minutes if the CZA agrees to accommodate the animals in the different zoos around the country. But the CZA is adamant,” said a Ministry official, adding that efforts were on to persuade the CZA to relent.

Animal rights activists are jubilating with the court’s decision which they feel will have a salutary effect the world over since India is the first country to take such a step. The Internet is abuzz with congratulatory messages, but tinged with concern for what will happen next to the animals.

“The Minister’s motives were well-meant. Something had to be done for these animals. But in true Government of India style they did not think things through to its logical conclusion: what is to be done with these animals once the circuses surrender them,” says a wildlife expert.