Rising deaths of Captive animals, PETA wants Zoos closed
One more news about how bad is the situation in our Zoos. I don't see any reason why we should not abolish our Zoos.
The news was published in Sifynews by IANS.
Rising deaths of captive animals, PETA wants zoos closed
2009-09-16 17:10:00
Citing deaths of animals in captivity, activists of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India Wednesday staged a demonstration in front of the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) here and called for a shut down of all zoos.
Following a recent case at a zoo in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, where 13 cheetals and a swamp deer died, the animals rights organisation called for the closure of all zoos and held banners saying 'Let Animals Show Their True Colours - Shut All Zoos'.
The activists said that the zoos' 'manufactured habitats' prevent animals from engaging in 'natural behaviour such as flying, swimming, running, hunting, climbing, scavenging and selecting a mate'.
'Zoos claim that they protect species from extinction, however incidents such as the recent deaths at Kanpur Zoo prove that their claims are a farce,' said PETA's Ashish Verma adding that they have been asking 'the CZA to take strict action against all zoos that violate animal safety norms and close them down immediately'.
Verma also recalled that since 2007 the animal death toll in zoos was rising.
As per PETA's statistics, in 2007, five deer died as a result of trauma and suffocation at the Kinnerasani Deer Park in Andhra Pradesh and 12 deer died of pneumonia at the Tripura Zoo.
'In the same year, 13 black bucks died at the Aurangabad Municipal Zoo, and five spotted deer died of cardiac arrest at the Sepahijala Zoo in Tripura. Shortly thereafter, 13 black bucks died at the Binkadakatti Zoo following a dog attack. In September of last year, five black bucks at Kanpur Zoo died of unknown causes,' Verma said.
The original article can be found at the following link
http://sify.com/news/national/fullst...ts_zoos_closed
Elephants to be banished from all zoos
Dear All,
Sharing this news. Elephants will be removed from all zoos. They develop problems in their feet due to lack of exercise. Thankfully, the Central Zoo Authority has taken a good decision.
Sabyasachi
Elephants to be banished from all zoos
Neha Lalchandani & Deeksha Chopra, TNN 12 November 2009, 01:08am IST
NEW DELHI: Delhi Zoo will soon be bidding farewell to its three elephants. In fact, elephants will no longer be seen in any zoo or circus in the
country after the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) issued a notice on Monday to the effect that all of these animals in zoos, numbering about 140, should be sent to national parks, sanctuaries and tiger reserves as soon as possible.
According to sources, the circular states that a zoo environment is not the best place for the large animals and they should be shifted to national parks with immediate effect. "CZA's order is binding on all zoos. Elephants are large animals and require a large area to move about freely. The environment of a zoo can be very restrictive. The animals have great use for departmental work, eco-tourism, patrolling etc and a decision has been taken to send them to national parks and tiger reserves where they can be under the supervision of mahauts," said A N Prasad, director, Project Elephant.
According to Dr B K Gupta, evaluation and monitoring officer of CZA, India had 140 elephants in 26 zoos and 16 circuses as on March 31 2009. "Of these, Mysore and Trivandrum have the largest number at 9 and 8 respectively.
Delhi and Mysore are the only two zoos that have African elephants. The decision was taken after evaluating conditions of elephants at various zoos and circuses. We found that circuses specially were not following standards set under the Recognition of Zoo Rules, 1992," he said.
Delhi Zoo director D N Singh confirmed that they had received the order though he restrained from elaborating on it. Sources said that Delhi Zoo's resident Asiatic pachyderms, Rajlakshmi and Hira, and its sole African member Shankar would be moved to Jim Corbett National Park sometime soon. Shankar had been gifted to former president Shankar Dayal Sharma by the Zimbabwian government.
Sources explained that the various zoos would carry out this order in consultation with the chief wildlife wardens of their specific states and the CZA.
Environmentalists saw this as a positive move though some had reservations on the shifting of all elephants as that would be contrary to the principal of ex-situ conservation."There is merit in this decision. It is best for them to be as close to their natural habitat as possible. Elephants needs a lot of space to exercise and move about in and they are being deprived that space in zoos and circuses," said Samir Sinha, head of traffic, WWF India.
The source article can be found here:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/h...ow/5221159.cms
Elephants to be banished from all zoos
This is good news indeed :)....heard from experts that lack of space and closed enclosures also effects the mental health of elephants....
Roopak
Six new zoos to be introduced soon
Six new zoos to be introduced soon
Wednesday, 30 November 2011 23:36
Much to the delight of children and animal lovers, at least six new zoological gardens are being proposed in the country. Among the major attractions in them will be the first ever Night Safari in the country at Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh and Panther Safari at Raigad in Maharashtra. The new zoos will be in addition to the already existing 22 in the country.
According to sources in the Central Zoo Authority, out of the six proposed zoological gardens that have been granted approval three are in Uttar Pradesh alone. Out of the other three, two are in Maharashtra and one in Madhya Pradesh.
The most awaited is, however, the Greater Noida Night Safari which will be the fourth of its kind in the world after Singapore, China and Thailand. CZA has granted approval under Section 38H(2) of the Wildlife Protection Act. It has also got the mandatory approval by the Supreme Court.
The Lion Safari proposed in Etawah, though having received clearances from both the CZA and the SC, has remained a non-started due to a power tussle between SP and BSP.
Yet another zoo proposed at Ramgarh Tal Development Area in Gorakhpur is expected to house animals from derecognised zoos of the State.
Two other similar proposals for Agra and Muradabad have, however, been shot down on the ground that the proposed sites were within the flood plains of Yamuna and Ram Ganges rivers and thus not suitable for creation of zoos.
Maharashtra being one of the worst-hit States in man-leopard conflicts, CZA has also granted approval for setting up a leopard rescue centre at Ahmednagar. Further, Madhya Pradesh is also expected to have a zoo and animal rescue centre at Satna.
Among the existing top five zoos, the Alipur Zoological Gardens (West-Bengal) is home to rare captive breeding projects involving the Manipur Brow-antlered Deer.
The Allen Forest Zoo (Uttar Pradesh) is created out of natural forest and its main attractions include white tigers and Asiatic lions. Aringar Anna Zoological Park (Tamil Nadu) is an Avian paradise and roosting ground for migratory birds. It is also home to a wide variety of species of monkeys. While the Mahendra Chaudhary Zoological Park/ Chatbir Zoo (Chandigarh) has Lion Safari and Royal Bengal Tiger as its main draws, the Guwahati Zoo (Assam) has one-horned rhino, Himalayan Black Bear, stump-tailed Macaque and the Hoolock gibbons as its major attractions.
67 animals died at WB zoo in eight months
67 animals died at WB zoo in eight months
Kolkata, May 22, 2012, (PTI):
Even as the West Bengal government hired and fired nine directors in the last eight months to ensure better management, the Alipore zoo here recorded 67 animal deaths during the same period.
Sources said 67 animals including tigers, lions, chimpanzees, marmosets, kangaroos, birds and snakes, died here between August 2011 and March 2012.
The zoo had recorded 57 animal deaths in 2009-10 and 52 to 53 deaths in 2010-11.
Among the animals that died are three of the six red kangaroos brought from Czech Republic in June 2011. Two new-born marmosets died in November 2011.
“The maximum number of casualties is among birds and reptiles. A total of 30 birds and 20 snakes have died over the past eight months,” a senior zoo official said.
According to former zoo inspector Swapan Ghosh, animal deaths in zoos are triggered by three factors-population of old and sick animals, lack of proper veterinary care and unforeseen incidents such as a disease outbreak.
“But 67 deaths in eight months, or one death in every 4 to 5 days, is highly unusual,” Ghosh, said.
However, state Forest minister Hiten Burman claimed to be ignorant of the deaths.
“Is it true that 67 animals have died in eight months? I’m not aware of that. I’ll have to inquire. I’ll ask for a report from the zoo authorities,” Burman told Deccan Herald.
“In fact, neither the Zoo authorities nor the government has an idea of running the park. As the animals in the zoo are taken out of their natural habitat and placed in an artificial environment they always need special care. Their condition is not only delicate but fragile too and the zoo authorities need to take care of that but unfortunately enough these factors are never taken under consideration,” a former director of the Alipore Zoo told Deccan Herald.
Royal Bengal Tigress meets gruesome end in Arunachal
Royal Bengal Tigress meets gruesome end in Arunachal
Updated: Wednesday, September 26, 2012, 15:10 [IST]
Itanagar, Sept 26: The brutal death of a Royal Bengal Tigress inside a zoo in Itanagar, the capital city of Arunachal Pradesh, has raised several questions regarding the safety of animals inside zoos spread across the country.
Currently, India is trying hard to increase its depleting tiger population in its various wildlife sanctuaries.
A group of poachers entered the zoo and hacked a Royal Bengal tigress to death, said sources.
The incident at the Itanagar zoo-cum-botanical garden took place on Sunday, Sept 23 between 8 pm and 9 pm when three guards were out for dinner, added sources. The fourth guard was said to be on leave.
The killing of the tigress by poachers was nothing less than horrific.
Zoo officials said the tigress was first shot in the forehead. Later the miscreants chopped off its abdomen before fleeing from the spot. Two empty cases were recovered from its skull during autopsy on Tuesday.
Zoo officials are saying the miscreants took advantage of the absence of guards.
But many are questioning as how could poachers enter inside a highly secured area like a zoo.
"Its a tragic day for us. We have lost one of our most loved animals in the zoo," rued R Ringu, deputy chief conservator of forest (wildlife). "They probably came to hunt a tiger, but killed a tigress by mistake," added Ringu.
A tiger's vital organs are in great demand globally and can fetch up to $50,000 in the international black market.
Although officials are claiming to take severe action against the culprits, however, so far, no arrests are being made in the case. The slain animal, Oni, was one of the six tigers at the zoo. Oni was born in the zoo in 2006.
Itanagar Zoo was established in 1987. The zoo is located around 8-km away from the city. The zoo is spread over 250-hectare-land.