Some `food' for thought...this!!!!!!

[Guest guest]

Since a long time I have been crying my lungs out and complaining to the Lucknow

Zoo authorities that they are not doing enough to stop the Zoo visitors from

throwing all kinds of food products and other stuff into provocating or

irritating an animal; all to no avail!!!!!!!! Whenever I used to visit the Zoo I

used to blow my top upon seeing the visitors teasing animals or throwing objects

at them to get some kind of reaction from the poor animal. The result is in

front of you all! Please read the article for further details. I have nothing

further to say…only this that now I hope the Zoo authorities would finally sit

up and take notice… and do something to curb the menace if they don't want to

lose some of their prized possessions!

 

`If we believe a thing to be bad, and if we have a right to prevent it, it is

our duty to prevent it and to damn the consequences.'

– Lord Milner, 1854-1925; Speech in Glasgow, Nov 1909.

 

Warm Regards

Radhika Singh

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Lucknow/King-of-the-jungle-chews-on-pl\

astic-in-zoo/articleshow/4653642.cms

 

King of the jungle chews on plastic in zoo

14 Jun 2009, 0528 hrs IST, TNN

 

LUCKNOW: Nowhere on earth can animals have a life which has not been corrupted

by men. Not even in the zoo. In fact, caged inmates are most

 

vulnerable. Seeing Prince, the lion king, at Lucknow Zoo chewing a plastic

bottle brings one to the stark reality. The bottle can choke the big cat to

death and if swallowed there is no chance he would live.

 

Two of the zoo inmates, a hippo and a sambar deer have died after they had

swallowed plastic. " The hippo's postmortem had shown undigested polythene in his

stomach " , shared an old keeper reminiscing that he had eaten a plastic ball

wrapped inside a polythene bag. Later, a sambar deer too died the same painful

death. Entering the zoo premises with a polythene bag was banned immediately

after the hippo's death. However, plastic is still visible in all its forms on

zoo campus.

 

With so much of apathy around, believing that inmates will get rid of exposure

to their unruly human visitors is a far-fetched idea. Even a cursory look at the

lion's enclosure speaks for itself. Bottles are enmeshed in the wires and fences

that form the eddy of his enclosure. Many of them have been thrown inside the

enclosure by visitors who cannot resist the temptation to hit `the king' with

them.

 

Most of the time when he has an afternoon nap visitors will come shout his name

to the pitch of their voices. " When he does not react even after that they will

try hit him with a pebble or even with a bottle " , confessed a keeper who sees it

happening everyday.

 

There does exist a law to punish the visitors who fiddle with zoo's wildlife but

so far its application has not helped. Under section 38(j) of the Wildlife

Protection Act, such a behaviour might invite a punishment of six months'

imprisonment or Rs 2,000 fine or both. Visitors have been punished but there is

no dearth of them who turn wild at the sight of wild animals.

 

In the words of a zoo staff, they pick up strewn bottles by afternoon and before

evening the premises needs to be cleaned again. Plastic bottles have turned into

a menace at city zoo. The three eatery outlets within the premises sell them to

all. The simple logic offered by one of the owners, " we cannot deny water or

drinks to people on a summer afternoon " .

 

When contacted zoo director Renu Singh said, " We have put up boards everywhere

telling people not to litter but unfortunately people do not pay attention " .

Banning water bottles is not possible but we will strictly ounish those found

littering enclosures or premises, she said.

 

The reptiles' enclosure that have their pools littered with paper cups, plastic

bottles and tin cans reiterate the need to make visitors learn the lesson the

hard way. Going by what the keeper pointed out, it is surprising that people

doing all this are not those coming from villages but the ones smartly dressed.