Latest news with #CZA
Time of India
8 hours ago
- General
- Time of India
CZA team in Kol, probes Alipore Zoo ‘missing' animal records, transfers
1 2 3 4 5 Kolkata: The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has sent a three-member team to the Zoological Garden, Alipore, to look into serious allegations of gross mismatch in its wildlife inventory and carry out an audit of animals at the zoo. Citizens' collective Save Wild Animals of Zoo and Our Nature (Swazon) has flagged the huge discrepancy of over 300 missing animals from the inventory recorded in the last day of 2023-24 and the first day of 2024-25 at Alipore zoo. The team will also go through records of some animals transfers from the facility. At least 51 animals were transferred from the zoo to a facility in western India in 2023-24 — at the very beginning of the fiscal, April 2, 2023. During the FY, 21 animals and birds were transferred to North Bengal Wild Animals Park near Siliguri, six to Junglemahala zoo in Jhargram, against two tigers and five birds and animals from the facilities in Siliguri and Jhargram, respectively. But the zoo annual report of 2023-24 is mum on the purpose of transfers to the western India facility. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata The CZA team will not only go through this year's inventory but also look into past inventory. Also on radar is large number of deaths that officials allegedly claimed had happened during the year and their inability to conduct autopsy as the bodies had decomposed. Swazon questioned how so many animals can decompose at a zoo where keepers are assigned to all cages. Asked if transfer of 51 animals were done under any exchange programme, Tapas Das, ex-zoo director, only said: "We need to check CZA documents." Central Zoo Authority member secretary Clement Ben said: "I cannot comment as our team is in Kolkata to probe the matter. They will submit a report soon." "Any transfer of zoo animals has to have a specific purpose, including exchange or dispersal of surplus stock. In this case, it does not appear entirely clear what the purpose of transfer was and if this rationale was made transparently public at the time," said Shubhobroto Ghosh of World Animal Protection in India. Ex-member secretary of CZA, Sanjay Shukla, said exchange is always not mandatory for such transfer/acquisition. "It is to be seen if donor zoo has some animals in excess and if these animals are missing from inventory of recipient zoo. In such a case transfer can happen without any exchange and without disturbing breeding pairs at donor zoo," he added. Animals in the lot of 51 are four fishing cats, one brow-antlered deer, one jungle cat, two marsh crocodiles, two Indian munjtac, three water monitor lizards, nine rock pythons, nine painted storks and 20 star tortoises.
Time of India
8 hours ago
- General
- Time of India
CZA probes zoo ‘missing' animal records, transfers
1 2 3 4 Kolkata: The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has sent a three-member team to the Zoological Garden, Alipore, to look into serious allegations of gross mismatch in its wildlife inventory and carry out an audit of animals at the zoo. Citizens' collective Save Wild Animals of Zoo and Our Nature (Swazon) has flagged the huge discrepancy of over 300 missing animals from the inventory recorded in the last day of 2023-24 and the first day of 2024-25 at Alipore zoo. The team will also go through records of some animals transfers from the facility. At least 51 animals were transferred from the zoo to a facility in western India in 2023-24 — at the very beginning of the fiscal, April 2, 2023. During the FY, 21 animals and birds were transferred to North Bengal Wild Animals Park near Siliguri, six to Junglemahala zoo in Jhargram, against two tigers and five birds and animals from the facilities in Siliguri and Jhargram, respectively. But the zoo annual report of 2023-24 is mum on the purpose of transfers to the western India facility. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata The CZA team will not only go through this year's inventory but also look into past inventory. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Use an AI Writing Tool That Actually Understands Your Voice Grammarly Install Now Undo Also on radar is large number of deaths that officials allegedly claimed had happened during the year and their inability to conduct autopsy as the bodies had decomposed. Swazon questioned how so many animals can decompose at a zoo where keepers are assigned to all cages. Asked if transfer of 51 animals were done under any exchange programme, Tapas Das, ex-zoo director, only said: "We need to check CZA documents." Central Zoo Authority member secretary Clement Ben said: "I cannot comment as our team is in Kolkata to probe the matter. They will submit a report soon." "Any transfer of zoo animals has to have a specific purpose, including exchange or dispersal of surplus stock. In this case, it does not appear entirely clear what the purpose of transfer was and if this rationale was made transparently public at the time," said Shubhobroto Ghosh of World Animal Protection in India. Ex-member secretary of CZA, Sanjay Shukla, said exchange is always not mandatory for such transfer/acquisition. "It is to be seen if donor zoo has some animals in excess and if these animals are missing from inventory of recipient zoo. In such a case transfer can happen without any exchange and without disturbing breeding pairs at donor zoo," he added. Animals in the lot of 51 are four fishing cats, one brow-antlered deer, one jungle cat, two marsh crocodiles, two Indian munjtac, three water monitor lizards, nine rock pythons, nine painted storks and 20 star tortoises.
The Wire
9 hours ago
- General
- The Wire
Animals Go ‘Missing' in West Bengal Zoos, Official Numbers Don't Tally
Bengaluru: Captive wild animals in two zoos in West Bengal have gone 'missing', as per official records maintained by the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), India's apex zoo body that comes under the Union environment ministry. News articles reported last week that 321 animals disappeared from the Alipore Zoo in Kolkata overnight. The chief secretary of West Bengal, who is the chairman of the West Bengal Zoo Authority, told The Wire on July 24 that an investigation is currently underway. Though not at the scale of the Alipore Zoo, this investigation by The Wire shows that the Harinalaya Eco Park in Kolkata also 'lost' four animals during the same time period. Many animal transfers are also being conducted between zoos. The CZA's annual inventory report for 2023-24 shows that during that year, the Alipore zoo transferred 54 animals to other zoos. However, the numbers presented in the corresponding annual report for the year for Alipore Zoo do not match this number; they are far higher. In 2023-24, the zoo sent 51 animals from nine species to Greens Zoological, Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (or Vantara) alone. Seven of these are listed under Schedule I of the Wild Life Protection Act (1972). The zoo also sent 33 animals to two other zoos in West Bengal: 84 transfers in total. Ecologists have raised concerns about these discrepancies in data between official records as well as the regular transfer of captive wildlife between many zoos. Zoos need to make verified data on its captive animal inventories and transfers available in the public domain, they told The Wire. And most importantly, while zoos play a role in educating the public and raising awareness, protecting endangered species in their habitats is far more critical as is preventing them from being caught from the wild for public display in zoos, they pointed out. 'Missing' animals Zoological parks or zoos are centres that house captive animals that are put on display to the public. As per Section 2 (39) of India's Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972, a zoo refers to 'an establishment, whether stationary or mobile, where captive animals are kept for exhibition to the public'. These include circuses and rescue centres, but not licensed dealers who keep captive animals. Over time, zoos have played an important role in conservation. They increase public awareness about wildlife, pique curiosity about a range of aspects including animal behaviour, and highlight why wild animals and their habitats need to be protected in the first place. Zoos are also seen as an important 'ex-situ' conservation measure: many function as breeding centres for rare and threatened species. There are 13 zoos in West Bengal. These include the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park in Darjeeling, the Bardhaman Zoological Park (Ramnabagan) Mini Zoo, the Gar Chumuk (Ulughata) Deer Park in Howrah, the Harinalaya at Eco Park in Kolkata, the Rasikbeel Mini Zoo in Cooch Behar, the Surulia Mini Zoo in Purulia and the Alipore Zoological Garden in Kolkata. All come under the aegis of the West Bengal Zoo Authority, which comes under the Central Zoo Authority a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change). The CZA lays down guidelines, rules and regulations that zoos have to follow. One mandate is that zoos have to submit annual information and data pertaining to the zoo such as annual reports and inventories, which it releases on its website. As per the Annual Inventory of Animals in Indian Zoos 2024-25 released by the CZA, the Alipore zoo reported that it housed a total of 351 animals at the start of the year (i.e., April 1, 2024). This 'opening stock' should match the number of 'closing stock' from the year before (i.e., as on March 31, 2024) But in the case of Alipore zoo that year, it didn't. As per the annual inventory report for 2023-24, the closing stock (as on March 31, 2024) was 672. Essentially, 321 animals disappeared from the logs overnight, NewsClick reported. 'This cannot be put down even to a clerical error,' a researcher who studies illegal wildlife trade but did not want to be named told The Wire. 'Where have these animals gone?' The researcher raised concerns of such evidently wrong numbers worrying conservationists about animals – including species not found in India – being smuggled into zoos, being accounted for as 'rescues', and then being transferred to private zoos and animal collections. The chief secretary of West Bengal told The Wire on July 24 that an investigation is currently underway on Alipore Zoo losing 321 captive animals overnight. 'I have asked the head of forest force to submit a report on this matter,' chief secretary Manoj Panth said. On analysing inventory reports across previous years for other zoos in the state, The Wire found that the numbers at the Harinalaya at Eco Park also show a mismatch, though not as stark as at the Alipore Zoo. Here, the closing stock was 235 for the year 2023-24, while the opening stock in 2024-25, a day later, was 231 – a loss of 4 animals. The Bardhaman Zoological Park also 'lost' two animals overnight between March 31, 2023 and April 1, 2023. Meanwhile, there is vagueness in the criteria that define the inclusion of zoos in the annual inventory reports too. For instance, there is no mention of the North Bengal Wild Animals Park in the inventory report for 2024-25; no mention of the Rasikbeel Mini Zoo in the year 2023-24; and no details of the animal inventory data for Alipore Zoo for the year 2022-23. Acquisitions, 'holding centres' and modus operandi Another interesting aspect of the annual inventory reports is the number of acquisitions and disposals. As per the 2024-25 annual inventory report, apart from the 351 animals Alipore zoo housed on April 1, 2024, the zoo witnessed 113 births and made a staggering 695 'acquisitions' (which refers to the animals that the zoo acquired) that year. That is the highest number of acquisitions made by zoos in India mentioned in the annual report that year — except for the People For Animals Rescue Center in Bengaluru, Karnataka, which acquired 4,654 animals during the year. However the latter is a rescue centre and its primary objective is to take in and rescue animals, unlike the Alipore zoo. The 695 animals that the Alipore Zoo acquired included exotic species, many that the zoo did not house before: such as a single bald eagle (a large bird of prey found only in North America), a red kangaroo, an alpaca, ten yellow-naped Amazon parrots, 13 red lories and more. Many of these acquisitions of exotic species come from confiscations or seizures made by authorities. In March 2024, the Alipore zoo received a Malayan tapir from the North Bengal Wild Animals Park that was 'seized for safe custody'. The annual report for 2023-24 for the Alipore zoo specifies that the zoo received one golden parakeet, two Moluccan cockatoos, one military macaw and one blue-and-gold-macaw in September 2023 from the Wildlife Wing of the Directorate of Forests, Government of West Bengal, from a seizure and for 'safe custody'. These were later returned to the Directorate as part of a court order, the annual report also added. None of these species are found in India. In 2024-25, as per the CZA's annual inventory report of animals in zoos, the Gar Chumuk (Ulughata) Deer Park – which is classified as a mini zoo – received two species of macaws that are native to South America: four individuals of the green-winged macaw, and 11 individuals of the red-bellied macaw. The same year, all 15 of these birds were 'disposed', or transferred. The inventory report does not mention which facility or private collection these birds were transferred to, or why they were transferred out. Such patterns of zoos acting as 'holding centers' where confiscated animals arrive and are then transferred to another facility is very common now, the researcher, who studies illegal wildlife trade but did not want to be named, told The Wire. Sometimes, the animals are transferred to private zoos and animal collections. 'This is not illegal, as per law,' the researcher said. 'Any seizures of live wild animals made on land cannot be sent back to the port of origin so they go to zoos. Is this the modus operandi to legalize illegal wildlife trade? We do not know,' the researcher commented. An important question that needs to be asked in this regard is about the origins of such seizures, the researcher commented. 'How did enforcement authorities become so efficient? How did they know about these animals to confiscate and capture them alive,' the researcher asked. Buying captive-bred exotic wildlife like blue-and-gold macaws – a large parrot that is native to the Amazon in South America – is legal but there are numerous ethical issues even then, the researcher pointed out. One is that many animals, though labelled captive-bred, are in fact captured from the wild and plucked out of their homes to meet the huge demands fuelled by the pet trade. 'People buying them are completely oblivious to the trail of dead animals each imported dead animal leaves in its wake,' the researcher said. Transfers to Vantara and others In an earlier instance, in April 2023, the Alipore zoo transferred 51 animals to Greens Zoological, Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre or Vantara in Jamnagar, Gujarat, per its annual report for 2023-24 published on the website of the CZA. Vantara has previously come under the scanner with some news reports alleging that the demand created by the rescue centre for captive wild animals is resulting in individuals being illegally captured from the wild. Vantara, however, had told The Wire that these allegations are 'entirely baseless' and 'misleading'. The animals transferred from Alipore zoo to Vantara in April 2023 included one jungle cat, four fishing cats, two marsh crocodiles, one brow-antlered deer, two Indian muntjac (or barking deer), three water monitor lizards, nine Indian rock pythons, nine painted storks and 20 Indian star tortoises. Of these, all species except the Indian muntjac and painted stork come under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 – that is, they are afforded the highest protection under Indian law, on par with the tiger. What is the logic behind transferring species like the fishing cat to a private entity like Vantara instead of back to the wild, asked Tiasa Adhya, an ecologist who studies the rare and elusive wild cat in West Bengal and other states. 'If other zoos have a genetic line [of fishing cats] which promises more [genetic] diversity upon breeding of introduced individuals, or if the genetics of fishing cats have been studied in the wild and genetically poor populations have been identified, then such transfers [to private entities like Vantara] make sense from a managerial perspective which aims to bridge ex-situ and in-situ conservation,' Adhya, co-founder of The Fishing Cat Project, said. But unless Vantara has such knowledge of fishing cat genetics already available, it would be 'wrong' from a species perspective to send fishing cats there because it is a new private entity, Adhya remarked. In 2023-24, the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park transferred several animals to Vantara: a snow leopard, a red panda, six golden pheasants, six silver pheasants and six Lady Amhersts's pheasants. Meanwhile, the data points to several other transfers between zoos. In 2023-24, as per its annual report, Alipore Zoo transferred 27 animals to the North Bengal Wild Animals Park (two Indian crested porcupines, eight blue-and-gold macaws, five barking deer, two Indian rock pythons, two Burmese pythons, two reticulated pythons and four water monitor lizards) in two separate installments (in December 2023 and March 2024). It also transferred six animals (two Indian crested porcupines and four blue-and-gold macaws) to Junglemahal Zoological Park in Jhargram, West Bengal. In 2023-24, the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park made 135 transfers, while the Gar Chumuk (Ulughata) Deer Park made 272 transfers. Name of Zoo Disposals (Transfers to other zoos) 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 Alipore Zoo - 54 23 Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park 51 135 65 Bardhaman Zoological Park 6 93 0 Gar Chumuk (Ulughata) Deer Park 15 272 37 Harinalaya At Eco Park 8 13 6 Rasikbeel Mini Zoo 20 - 0 Surulia Mini Zoo 0 0 0 North Bengal Wild Animals Park 1 35 - Table: 'Disposals' or transfers to other zoos for three years, from CZA's annual inventory reports. Blank spaces indicate years for which data is not available for that year. According to the researcher who studies illegal wildlife trade, a lot of transfers of wild animals are occurring between zoos. Why are these transfers being made, the researcher asked. 'Zoos need to provide data on the rationale behind such transfers and make them available in the public domain,' the researcher said. The state zoo authority does not have any say in such transfers as they are internal decisions taken between zoos, chief secretary Panth told The Wire. Numbers that don't tally Meanwhile, the inventory report for the Alipore zoo for the year 2023-24 – also published by the same statutory body, the CZA – says that the Alipore zoo 'disposed' of a total of 54 animals that year. However, transfers to Vantara, the North Bengal Wild Animals Park and Junglemahal Zoological Park alone amount to a total of 84 'disposals', per another CZA document – its annual report for the same year. The inventory report for the year also does not mention the 'disposal' of any marsh crocodiles, Indian rock pythons, Burmese pythons, reticulated pythons or water monitor lizards from the Alipore zoo at all – whereas its annual report for the year mentions the transfer of two marsh crocodiles, nine Indian rock pythons and three water monitor lizards to Vantara; two Indian rock pythons, two Burmese pythons, two reticulated pythons and four water monitor lizards to the North Bengal Wild Animals Park as mentioned above. Ironically, the inventory report claims that Alipore zoo only had eight Indian rock pythons at the opening of the year, and the same number at the close of the year, with no acquisitions or disposals in between. Similarly, the inventory report only specifies the 'disposal' of eight blue-and-gold macaws (while the annual report claims that a total of 12 such birds were transferred from Alipore zoo to the North Bengal Wild Animals Park and Junglemahal Zoological Park). In the case of the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park too, the inventory and zoo annual reports for the same year give completely different figures for the same categories. The inventory report lists 464 animals as the opening stock for the year 2023-24, whereas the annual report quotes 210; 40 acquisitions in the inventory versus 21 in the annual report; 135 disposals in the inventory versus 21 in the annual report; and a closing stock of 426 in the inventory versus 220 in the annual report for the year. Clearly, the numbers do not tally. This discrepancy in numbers also raises several questions, including the reliability of the CZA data. How many animals were really transferred to other zoological parks including Vantara and the North Bengal Wild Animals Park and other zoos? On what basis were these transfers made? If animals are going missing in hundreds from logs overnight, why should the call to transfer animals between zoos remain an internal decision and not one governed by the government? Data is key, ecologists say. Correct, verifiable data on animal transfers and why certain transfers were made should ideally be placed in the public domain, the wildlife trade researcher told The Wire. Zoos must also ensure that they conduct post-mortems for all animals that die on the premises and make available that data as well for the public, the researcher added. If animals breed successfully in zoos, and space and resources become a constraint, some can be reintroduced back into the wild – which is ultimately what captive breeding programmes aim to do. According to a study by Adhya and other scientists, captive-bred fishing cats can be re-introduced in the wild this way. The study, published in 2024, identified 21 possible reintroduction zones for captive-bred fishing cats in West Bengal, including spots in the Sundarbans, a mangrove ecosystem in the state. Thus, captive-bred fishing cats – once acclimatised in 'soft release centers' within designated habitats marked for their release – can be repatriated to the wild instead of being transferred to other zoos, Adhya remarked. But most importantly, priority should be given to protect the remaining wild habitats of species and authorities should only consider captive breeding programs as a supplementary tool, Adhya commented. In the case of fishing cats for instance, without adequate protection of wetlands which are the most critically threatened ecosystems on the planet, 'captive breeding programs are a farce on the face of the Earth,' she added. With inputs from Aparna Bhattacharya.
The Print
6 days ago
- General
- The Print
Over 300 animals ‘missing overnight', there's something fishy going on at Kolkata's Alipore Zoo
Referring to the 'Annual Inventory of Animals in Zoos' report, compiled every year by the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), the petition, seen by ThePrint, says that 321 animals had gone 'missing' from the Alipore zoo's inventory between the last day of fiscal 2023-24 and the first day of fiscal 2024-25. City-based NGO Swazon in a petition filed in the Calcutta High Court on 1 July alleged 'gross administrative negligence' at the zoo, citing discrepancies in its annual inventory of animals over the past 30 years—mismatch that the zoo has put down to a 'counting error'. New Delhi: The Alipore Zoological Garden in Kolkata, one of India's oldest zoos, is accused of mismanagement of wildlife, with over 300 animals 'missing overnight' from records. This discrepancy was noticed when comparing the closing stock, i.e. the number of animals on the last day of a financial year, and the opening stock, i.e., the number of animals on the first day of the next financial year, at the zoo. 'This is abject data fudging, and there have been so many anomalies over the years. Whether the animals are actually missing, or you're not reporting them correctly, it is still cause for concern since you're a public zoo and you should be accountable,' Swarnali Chatterjee, a member of the NGO, told ThePrint. The closing stock for financial year 2023-24, counted on 31 March, 2024, reported a total of 672 animals at the zoo. However, the opening stock for 2024-25, counted on 1 April, 2024, reported a total of 351 animals. This was a discrepancy of 321 animals. An independent analysis by ThePrint of CZA reports over the years found that the mismatch in numbers—between the closing stock of one year and opening stock of the next—at the Alipore zoo was not a one-time incident. It dates all the way back to 1996, when the first-ever annual inventory was published by the CZA for fiscal 1995-1996. The closing stock on 31 March, 1996, was 1,805 animals at the Alipore zoo. The opening stock on 1 April, 1996, however, recorded a higher number of animals, at 1,872. A discrepancy of 5, 10, 15, or even 200-300 animals was visible in every recorded inventory of the Alipore zoo from 1995 to 2025, according to the analysis of data. 'Such large numbers of unaccounted animals are nothing short of alarming,' Shubhobroto Ghosh, Wildlife Research Manager, World Animal Protection India, said. 'One cannot rule out sinister possibilities like illegal wildlife trade to explain the hundreds of animals missing over the years at the Alipore zoo.' Speaking to ThePrint, Arun Mukherjee, director of Alipore zoo, said: 'It is just a counting error—between our internal numbers and those reported in the CZA's inventory, there's been an error and we're trying to fix it.' Ghosh, however, said a counting error could explain one or two instances of mismatch, but not 30 years of discrepancies. In fact, the zoo's inventory is missing altogether from the CZA report for certain years, such as 2021-22 and 2022-23, despite it being mandatory for all zoos to share their inventory with the CZA every year. According to the latest inventory numbers posted on 31 March, 2025, the Alipore zoo has 1,184 animals, including birds, mammals, and reptiles. But while the inventory on 31 March, 2024, mentioned Bengal tigers, Asiatic lions, elephants, jackals, rhinoceros, leopards, and other endangered animals, none of these are mentioned in the inventory for 2024-2025. Videos and testimonies from visitors to the zoo from one month ago show that it continues to house Asiatic lions and Bengal tigers, but these are not recorded as part of the latest inventory. 'That is the problem—the fact that these animals exist in the zoo yet they're not being recorded,' said Ghosh. 'If large, charismatic animals like lions, elephants and giraffes are missing from the zoo's records, it's grounds for suspicion and alarm.' The CZA, nodal body under the Union ministry of environment that oversees all 157 recognised zoos in the country, said it is looking into the matter. 'We have asked for a report from the Chief Wildlife Warden of West Bengal in this matter,' V. Clement Ben, member secretary, told ThePrint. The NGO's petition is scheduled to be heard by a bench of the Calcutta High Court on 24 July. It requests that the court order the zoo authorities to submit annual inventory of the past 10 years and provide an explanation for the discrepancies. Also Read: Delhi zoo is now a den of death — a result of politics, apathy and corruption 'Problem at heart of zoo' The Alipore Zoological Garden, also known as the Kolkata zoo, was founded in 1875 under the British empire, and is one of the oldest zoos in India. It has been home to a number of 'celebrity animals' such as Adwaita, a tortoise that was a pet of British general Robert Clive and which lived in the zoo until its death in 2006. It was believed to be between 150 and 250 years old. Citizens' group Swazon (Save Wild Animals of Zoo and Our Nature) stated in its petition how integral the zoo is to Kolkata's heritage and wildlife history. It also alleged that the misrepresentation in zoo animal numbers was connected to another issue—the West Bengal government's plan to auction off a section of land that houses zoo infrastructure. An e-tender posted by West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation last month invites bids for auction of a piece of land on 34A, Belvedere Road, Alipore, for 'commercial use'. This piece of land measuring close to 3 acres currently houses some of the zoo's ancillary infrastructure like the veterinary hospital, the rescue centre, the post-mortem facility, and a public aquarium. The e-tender states that the land belongs to the municipal corporation. According to the petition, the change of land use from public to commercial is illegal without proper approval from the CZA. Since the land houses essential facilities of the Alipore zoo, the petition terms it an attempt to piecemeal the zoo and monetise it through commercial usage. It requests that the HC overturn the decision to sell any part of the zoo's land. 'There's a clear pattern we've noticed: first, they're reducing the number of recorded animals. Now they're reducing the area under the zoo. It is an attempt by the government to slowly strip the zoo of its status and take over its land,' said Chatterjee. The zoo director refused to comment on the e-tender, saying the NGO's petition was due to be heard in court. According to Chatterjee, the Alipore zoo was initially categorised as a large zoo by the CZA because of its number of animals and annual footfall. To be classified as a large zoo, the CZA guidelines say the zoo needs to have more than 700 animals and a wide variety representing both local and exotic animals. With dwindling animal numbers over the last 30 years, the Alipore zoo is now categorised as a medium-sized zoo. The petition terms this as intentional downsizing on behalf of the government. 'The animals are shrinking, but the footfall remains the same. The zoo continues to earn through ticket sales, so it cannot blame its shrinking size on a lack of funds. There has to be some kind of a problem at the heart of the zoo's functioning,' said Chatterjee. 'All these signs point to an attempt to slowly shut down the zoo and sell the land to real estate developers.' For Ghosh, the Alipore zoo case signifies a deeper issue in the registration and recording of animals in India's 157 recognised zoos. Since the mismatch of numbers at the Kolkata zoo went unnoticed by both the zoo authorities and CZA for years, Ghosh called for immediate remedial measures. 'It is of cardinal importance to institute immediate measures of transparency and clarity in animal records of not only Alipore zoo in West Bengal, but each and every zoo in India,' he said. 'Wildlife trade is exploding in India through the roof, and we must make sure zoos do not add to this tragedy.' (Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui) Also Read: Indian zoos have a numbers problem. Too many animals, not enough vets, biologists, educators
Time of India
25-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Gorakhpur zoo: Five bird flu hit inmates recover back to health
Lucknow: The five inmates of Gorakhpur zoo — a tiger, two leopard cubs, a cockatiel, and a vulture — who tested positive for avian influenza, have recovered. "This is very rare. All five animals who tested positive for avian influenza are back to back to health and normalcy. This was taken note of by everyone, even the Central Zoo Authority (CZA)," said Vikas Yadav, director of Gorakhpur zoo, which is closed for more than a month now. The animals lost appetite and movement, became weak, and got urine infections as common symptoms due to the bird flu virus. "We got alerted as soon as the diet of any of our animals was reduced. They were administered immunity boosters," said the official. What followed was monitoring every four hours. As per the CZA protocol, samples of 13 more animals, collected randomly, were sent to the testing laboratory, NIHSAD, in Bhopal. The decision on opening the zoo will be taken depending on the reports being negative. The zoo was closed on May 13 for visitors. The first death reported was of a tigress on May 7. A total of eight of its animals tested positive for the infection, out of which three died and five were treated and declared 'negative' for the H5N1 strain. It was the first such case of a bird flu outbreak in a zoo. After the infection was first reported at Gorakhpur zoo, CM Yogi Adityanath held a high-level meeting on the matter and ordered the necessary precautions to be followed. All three zoos and the lion safari in Etawah were closed for visitors on May 13, following the outbreak of the infection. While Kanpur zoo was also affected, Lucknow zoo and the lion safari had their animals safe. Kanpur zoo is still closed, while the other two places were opened for visitors on May 29.
