Zoo bans film shooting to save animals
Filmmakers looking for that perfect green shot with animals will have to look for other locales.
Filmmakers in Patna looking for that perfect green shot with animals as a backdrop will have to look further than the city zoo after authorities banned shooting of films, video albums and the use of generators or music systems in the premises.
Officials at the Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park here say the move will save animals from shock and harassment caused during shooting.
According to zoo director Rakesh Kumar, the decision was prompted by a video film crew that refused to listen when officials asked them to reduce the volume of the sound system.
"When zoo officials asked them to reduce the sound system as it was disturbing animals, they refused and insisted that they had got permission to shoot. After that, we decided to ban shooting," Kumar said.
Many Bhojpuri films and video albums have been shot at the zoo, home to 870 species of animals, but officials noticed that the noise created during shooting was making them panicky and edgy.
Zoo officials admit that the ban may hit revenue but say the move would ultimately prove beneficial to the animals.
Last year, zoo authorities had banned laughter clubs on the ground that it affected animals. The clubs had irked none other than former chief minister Lalu Prasad who said the morning walkers and their loud laughs disturbed animals.