(IN) PETA moves Supreme Court against 'new zoo'- Proposed selective shifting of animals questioned

[Guest guest]

*FOR IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE:*

 

* PETA moves Supreme Court against 'new zoo'

Proposed selective shifting of animals questioned

*

 

---------- Forwarded message ----------

Anuradha Sawhney <anuradhas

Tue, May 20, 2008 at 11:28 AM

PETA moves Supreme Court against 'new zoo'

azam24x7

 

 

(theshillongtimes.com) regional page

 

 

PETA moves Supreme Court against 'new zoo'

Proposed selective shifting of animals questioned

 

From Our Spl Correspondent

 

NEW DELHI: People for Ethical Treatment to Animals (PETA) on Monday

dashed off a letter to the Supreme Court and the Central Zoo Authority

questioning the Meghalaya Government's decision to open a new zoo in

Ri-Bhoi district and shift only a few selected animals to the Guwahti

zoo because of its protest.

 

" We have read in The Shillong Times that endangered animals like a

pair of Hollock Gibbons (Apes) and a Serow (Goat Antelope) would be

shifted to Assam State Zoo in Guwahati, " Mrs Anuradha Sawhney, Chief

Functionary of PETA said. " We fail to understand the rationale behind

this selective shifting, " she added.

 

PETA had been complaining that condition of the century-old Lady

Hydari Park in Shillong where the animals were kept was not conducive

or in line with prescribed standards of Central Zoo Authority.

Confirming this, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Mr VK

Nautiyal had said the endangered animals that would be shifted to

Assam State Zoo under the apex court direction.

 

Mr Nautiyal had also said 75 acres of land had been acquired at Umtrew

in Ri-Bhoi district for the purpose of a new zoo and a master plan was

being prepared at the cost of Rs 8.36 crore.

 

Any new zoo that is to be established must get prior permission from

the CZA as per the decision of the Supreme Court of India, Mrs Sawhney

made it clear. The State Government must allocate funds to improve the

condition of animals housed and exhibited presently in the zoo rather

than establishing a new zoo, she added.

 

PETA urged the CZA and the Supreme Court to deny permission to the

Meghalaya Government to set up any new zoo. " The zoo authorities have

admitted that the provisions of the Recognition of Zoo Rules are not

complied with non compliance of the Zoo rules, " the letter said.

 

PETA had also complained that the enclosures in the zoo were not

designed to meet the full biological needs of the animals besides

having no post-mortem facility. It had also pointed out that no

screens were provided between the adjacent enclosures to safeguard

animals against being excited or stressed due to the visibility of

animals in nearby enclosures.

 

The PCCF himself agrees there is shortage of staff and equipment; the

letter said adding, " Surprisingly the Central Zoo Authority has still

not closed down the zoo. "

 

Meanwhile, there were reports of number of cases of animal deaths in

the Park. The present zoo also has no full-time veterinary doctor and

services of veterinarians from the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary

department is taken during emergency.

 

" The zoo houses 57 birds and 24 animals of 35 species, all of who are

dependent on you for help and support " , the letter said while

appealing for immediate prohibition of exhibiting animals incarcerated

in the zoo and issue appropriate directions to relocate the entire

animal collection from the zoo.

 

 

On Thu, May 15, 2008 at 10:10 AM, AZAM SIDDIQUI <azam24x7 wrote:

 

> *For immediate press release:*

>

> *EXPOSED: Violations at Lady Hydari Park and Animal Land to the PETA-India

> Zoo report- 2006

> *

>

> *

> *

>

> *Please find copies of an updated investigation report dated: 11th May`

> 2008 on the Lady Hydari Park and Animal Land which was a follow up to check

> whether the gross violations of CZA rules that were exposed in March` 2006

> have been corrected.*

>

> *It was shocking to see that two years hence the conditions were still

> pathetic and getting only worse.*

>

> *We hope the CZA takes note of the same and action is taken against the

> offenders.*

>

> *Azam Siddiqui*

>

> Master Trainer in Animal Welfare (2001)

> Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI)

>

> Ph: +91 94350 48481

>

> Contact details of Ms. Anuradha Sawhney, Chief Functionary, PETA- India

>

> Ph: +91 98201 22561*

> *

>

> anuradhas

>

> *P.S: Please find attached the copies of the letters in order.*

>

> *Also follow the web links to view the photographs which can be used by

> the media/ press.*

>

> ___________

>

> *COPY OF THE LETTER SENT BY MS. ANURADHA SAWHNEY, PETA-India TO MEMBER

> SECRETARY, CENTRAL ZOO AUTHORITY OF INDIA:*

>

>

> May 14, 2008

>

> Member Secretary

>

> Central Zoo Authority

>

> New Delhi

>

> * *

>

> ***Violation of Recognition of Zoo Rules at Lady Hydari Zoo in

> Shillong.*

>

>

>

> *Reference*:

>

> Our letter to you dated March 27, 2006 along with a report on the Lady

> Hydari Zoo.

>

> Information received under Right to Information Act from Lady Hydari Park.

>

> A report from Mr. Azam Siddiqui (Master Trainer in Animal Welfare) dated

> May 11, 2008 addressed to you.

>

> (Copies attached for quick reference)

>

>

>

> Dear Sir,

>

>

>

> This is in furtherance to the above referred letter from Mr. Azam Siddiqui

> elucidating the bad conditions prevailing at Lady Hydari Zoo in Shillong. We

> in the past have written to you about this zoo and drawn your attention to

> the violation of the Recognition of Zoo Rules, and have sought the closure

> of the zoo in the best interest of animals.

>

>

>

> Further to this, we had also applied under Right to Information Act, 2005

> to the authorities of this zoo and sought information about the compliance

> of the Recognition of Zoo Rules; a perusal of the response received clearly

> shows that many provisions for recognition are not complied with by the zoo.

>

>

>

>

> Following are few points that we would like to highlight, according to the

> response received from the zoo:

>

>

>

> · The zoo does not have an official with master degree in Wildlife

> Science / Zoology as a full time curator.

>

> · There is neither a full-fledged veterinary facility nor a

> fulltime veterinarian in the zoo which means there is no facility to take

> care of sick animals.

>

> · The enclosures are not designed so as to meet the full

> biological requirements of the animals.

>

> · No screens are provided between the adjacent enclosures to

> safeguard animals against being excited or stressed because of the

> visibility of animals in other enclosures.

>

> · There are no moats in any of the enclosures.

>

> · The last construction that took place was during 1992.

>

> · There are no isolation and quarantine wards in the zoo for newly

> arriving animals and sick animals.

>

> · The zoo does not have a post mortem room.

>

> · Some of the animals do not have mates.

>

> · The long term Master Plan for the development of the zoo has not

> been submitted to CZA.

>

> · Above all the zoo has animals more than the holding capacity.

>

>

>

> It's surprising that the zoo continues to function even after they

> themselves agree that the conditions stipulated in Recognition of Zoo Rules

> are not complied with. We request you to immediately close the zoo and also

> issue directions to the state government to relocate the animals housed at

> the present zoo.

>

>

>

> Sincerely,

>

> Anuradha Sawhney

>

> Chief Functionary

>

>

>

> Encl. As above

>

>

> CC PCCF, Meghalaya

> _________________

>

> *Investigation report dated 11th May` 2007, and the letter sent to CZA:*

>

> ---------- Forwarded message ----------

> AZAM SIDDIQUI <azam24x7

> Mon, May 12, 2008 at 1:35 PM

> (IN): An update on Lady Hydari Park and Animal Land to the

> PETA-India Zoo report- 2006

> Central Zoo Authority <cza

> Cc: Anuradha Sawhney <anuradhas

>

>

> Shillong, Sunday, May 11, 2008

> Time: 9.00am

>

> With reference to the PETA-India Zoo report of February 2006 (please find

> the link below) :

> http://www.petaindia.com/campaigns/entertainment-zoos-meghalaya-ladyHydari.asp

>

> Here are some observations that I noticed on my visit on sunday, May 11,

> 2008 at 9.00am.

>

>

> Photo link of the Zoo pics:

> http://picasaweb.google.com/azam24x7/LadyHydariParkAndAnimalLand2008

>

> *OBSERVATIONS on PETA-India`s 2006 report:*

>

>

> - 2006: No clean water can be seen in the enclosures.

>

> 2008: NO WATER or Food at the time of inspection in the following

> enclosures:

> Himalayan yellow throated marten, Jackal.

> The rest of the enclosures had very less water and most of the utensils

> were dirty.

>

>

> - 2006: Many enclosures have broken cement floors which are covered

> with excrement and are foul-smelling.

>

> 2008: Its the same as of now.

>

> - 2006: No one stops visitors from carrying and openly consuming

> alcohol inside the zoo.

>

> 2008: My visit was early in the morning hours so I could not spot anyone

> consuming liquor. Although I must say that the warning signs have been put

> up in many places to caution people from not consuming liquor.

>

> - 2006: Visitors can be seen pouring beer on the animals and inside

> their cages. The zoo is littered with beer bottles.

>

> 2008: Feeding the animals was not seen and again because it was morning

> hours there were less visitors.

>

> - 2006: On the day of our inspection, almost every visitor teased the

> animals. Many agitated the animals by banging on the walls of their

> enclosures.

>

> 2008: Teasing and distracting animals was seen as the visitors were tried

> their best to communicate using their wretched skills with the inmates in

> the most weird language that I failed to understand.

>

> - 2006: Visitors can be seen trying to touch the animals with lit

> cigarettes.

>

> 2008: Not seen.

>

> - 2006: One fox appeared to be petrified because of harassment.

>

> 2008: The fox may have been sifted as I could not see any.

>

> - 2006: One palm civet had an untended injury to his tail which was

> caused by a visitor. The enclosure of a second civet had old bananas lying

> on the floor and a cement trough of drinking water which had algae growing

> in it.

>

> 2008: The civet was inside the enclosure and so could not examine.

>

> - 2006: Sambars, barking deer and a crane share an enclosure which

> contains dirty pond water.

>

> 2008: The crane was not seen. The sambars, barking deer are in the most

> pathetic conditions. They say it is a deer park but it is nothing less than

> a torture chamber.

> I could see empty cement bag (plastic made) inside the enclosure where the

> deer were grazing. This perhaps is the negligence of the staff who are

> renovating some portions inside.

> There was a huge pile of garbage inside with plastic and other materials

> which the deer were exploring was while grazing. The green cover inside the

> deer enclosure is NIL. There is no shade proving trees and this can be very

> painful as the sun shines really bright and warm during summer here. A few

> pine trees are there but they are not serving the purpose.

> The fences have given way exposing a threat of injury to the animals with

> sharp wires and rods.

> Horrible hygiene conditions inside. Water facility poor. Food was also less

> and the animals seemed to be starving as they were searching for food among

> the dry twigs.

>

>

> - 2006: Visitors bang on the filthy, cramped cages of nocturnal wood

> owls and prompt them to fly during the daytime.

>

> 2008: No banging seen, but there was no official/ guard to correct the

> visitors when they were seen teasing them.

>

> - 2006: Four fish owls share a small, filthy, foul-smelling enclosure.

>

> 2008: Same condition prevails.

>

> - 2006: One monkey is housed individually in a rusted cage.

>

> 2008: The rhesus macaque seemed to be in a dry barren enclosure. One large

> stump tailed macaque seemed to have skin infection (could be old age, not

> too sure).

>

> - 2006: Two Himalayan black bears exhibited stress-induced

> stereotypical behaviours. No water could be found in their enclosure.

>

> 2008: The enclosure is same as it was. No shade above. Sress and

> stereotypical behaviour was seen in one of the bears. the other bear was

> sleeping though. Water was there but no food.

> The signboard was missing.

>

> *Some more observations as on 11th May` 2008:*

>

> 1. The water in the tank of Pelicans and geese was very dirty and emitting

> foul smell.

> 2. A lot of worn out signboards which include the important ones cautioning

> people from teasing/ feeding animals was seen.

> 3. The pied horn bill enclosure was too tiny for the bird. Also the animal

> seemed restless and seemed to rush to every visitor probably because it was

> starving. Animals approaching visitors is a sign of starvation in my

> experience.

> 4. A Jackal exhibited stress-induced stereotypical behaviour.

> 5. Hoolock Gibbon exhibited stress-induced stereotypical behaviour and

> seemed very restless.

> 6. A single Himalayan black bear exhibited stress-induced stereotypical

> behaviour

>

> *Recommendations:*

>

> This mini zoo or animal land as they call needs to be shut down immediately

> to avoid any further pain and torture. I fail to understand why despite the

> gross violations as exposed by PETA-India which were brought into the notice

> of the highest authority that controls the standards of Zoos- CZA in 2006,

> two years now these voiceless animals are still subjected to this utter

> negligence.

>

> I have video footage of the above mentioned observations that also support

> what I say along with the attached photo link, incase there is any need of

> further evidence to support.

>

> Hope to hear from you soon,

>

> Yours truly,

>

> Azam Siddiqui

>

> Master Trainer in Animal Welfare (2001)

> Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI).

>

> http://www.freewebs.com/azamsiddiqui

>

>

>

> Copy to:

>

> 1. Ms. Anuradha Sawhney, Chief Functionary, PETA- India.

>

>

> --

> United against elephant polo

> http://www.stopelephantpolo.com