Zoo turns down KMC proposals

THE KANPUR Zoo authorities have expressed their inability to accept the proposals made by Kanpur Municipal Corporation (KMC) commissioner Badal Chatterji with regard to controlling the pig population in the city.

THE KANPUR Zoo authorities have expressed their inability to accept the proposals made by Kanpur Municipal Corporation (KMC) commissioner Badal Chatterji with regard to controlling the pig population in the city.

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Zoo director R Hemant Kumar told Hindustan Times that Chatterjee had put two proposals before him during a telephonic convesarion last week. Since it was not within his powers to accept either of the proposals, he asked the municipal commissioner to put the matter before the Chief Wild Life Warden and the Central Zoo Authorities (CZA).

In the first proposal, Chatterjee had offered to supply pork to the zoo.

According to the zoo director, it was not possible to accept the proposal as it needed change in the existing food chart. The food chart is prepared by the CZA and no change in it could be made at the district level without the approval of the CZA.

Secondly, as per the animal anatomy if the animals in the enclosures were served high fat containing meat, their blood cholesterols would rise and their life expectancy would be reduced. Consequently, these animals were given leg-meat of the buffalo, which is commonly known as muscle meat, as it did not contain fat. Sometimes, the carnivorous were given abdominal and viscera meat. Since, the pork contained high calorie and high fat, it could not be given to the animals in the enclosures as they did not have sprawling fields to burn the fat, he said.

The second offer that the Municipal Commissioner had put forth was that all the pigs be kept in an enclosure in the zoo. But this too was not possible on the medical health grounds of the inmates. Firstly, the zoo did not have sufficient fund to feed the population of about two lakh pigs and if they were left to stroll in the campus they would cause health problems to the visitors and the inmates alike, the director said. Above all for keeping the pigs in the zoo, permission from the CZA was mandatory. Such a policy decision could not be taken at the zoo director level, he said.

Kumar said the commissioner deputed Health Officer to discus the issue with the zoo veterinary. But, the zoo veterinary also expressed his inability to manage the pig population or give pork to the zoo inmates.

Zoo to prepare disaster management plan

THE CZA has asked the Kanpur Zoo to prepare a disaster management plan for all the zoos in the country. The objective is to protect zoo inmates against any natural calamity.

Talking to HT, zoo director R Hemant Kumar said that he had received a letter from the CZA on September 8.

The letter asked for preparing a comprehensive plan pertaining to zoo disaster management. He said the plan was expected to be prepared within a year. To a question, he said that zoos in different states are prone to different types of natural dangers. He cited the example of zoos in the northeast facing problems of landslide and heavy rains. Similarly, zoos in the south faced vagaries of cyclone, he said.

Kumar said, “Before preparing the plan, we will have to study nature, climate and geological conditions of the place where a zoo exists. It will take some time to understand environmental conditions of the different places.”

He added that the plan would be prepared in association with the Disaster Management Institute, Delhi.