India Takes Action Against Posing With Big Cats

India Takes Action Against Posing With Big Cats

Thank you the CZA. Now lets have other zoo organisations around the world follow suit. There is too much of this. Pulling cubs deliberately for photos or deliberately for hand rearing using any old made up excuse. Zoo staff the world over could do animals a favour by keeping their own 'posing' photos private. Posting on Facebook and elsewhere does more harm than most realise.

Leave the cubs alone!

By Chetan R, Bangalore Mirror Bureau

CZA orders probe against three individuals who posted pictures of themselves holding tiger and leopard cubs on social media, besides a Bannerghatta zoo official and an NGO

The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has taken serious note of the alarming trend of people posing with animals in Bannerghatta National Park and flaunting these pictures - which often go viral -- on social networking sites.
Clearly indicating its intention to clamp down on this fad, the premier body for zoos and zoo animals in the country has ordered a probe into individuals and an NGO in instances that are allegedly in gross violation of CZA rules. Based on a directive from their central body, which dashed off a letter on Thursday, the Karnataka Zoo Authority is probing three such cases. Such tactile association poses potential risk to the young wildlife, authorities warn. 

Wildlife activists in Bangalore first alerted the vigilance wing of the state forest department. The issue was also brought to the notice of the-now union minister Maneka Gandhi. Gandhi's People For Animals then took it up with the CZA. 

Under the scanner are an NGO, which allegedly facilitates pictures and selfies with wild animals, besides a forest official and individuals named in the complaint. 

In a directive to his counterpart in Karnataka on May 29, Bishan Singh Bonal, Member Secretary, CZA, ministry of environment and forestry, has stated, "Kindly cause an inquiry and take action as per the prevailing rule and regulations. Sub rule 5(6) of Rule 10 under Recognition of Zoo Rule 2009 (amendment 2013), reads, 'The curatorial -- The animals shall be handled only by the staff having experience and training in handling the individual animals'. Whereas, as per photographs, it seems that general visitors are allowed to pose for photography in violation of RZR, 2009 under Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Your early action with status report is solicited." The whistleblower in this case is a 33-year-old MBA graduate Hari Krishna. Besides wildlife photography, he also runs adventure biking expeditions themed around nature and wildlife con
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http://www.bangaloremirror.com/bangalore/cover-story/Leave-the-cubs-alone/articleshow/35855127.cms

Indian Elephant Insanity

Photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/31884519@N00/255942923/

I never ever thought that I would be in such ready agreement with PETA but just what does the Indian government think they are up to?

Firstly we have the CZA (Central Zoo Authority) issuing a decree that all elephants have to be moved out of sight and out of mind to the so called sanctuaries and forest camps and now we have this.

Somebody in the Ministry of the Environment has decided to send two elephants from an Indian Zoo to a zoo in Turkmenistan. What is going on here? Are zoos good or are they bad? Or is it that all Indian zoos are bad (and I know personally that they are not)?

I admit that I am ignorant of zoos in Turkmenistan. No doubt there are both good and bad zoos as there are in India and everywhere else in the world. As this move has just been made apparent I feel it is likely that the intended destination is the new zoo, opened only this month in the foothills of the Kopetdag Mountains. I would like to visit and give my honest and unbiased opinion. Perhaps I will one day.

Whereas I agree with PETA that questions have to be asked here our paths then sharply part. I believe that Indian zoos need to improve conditions for their elephants and not try and hide them away.

I am though very puzzled at this Indian Elephant Insanity.


Read more HERE

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Indian Zoo Elephants Out Of Sight Out Of Mind

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In Zoo News Digest 6th - 12th November 2009 (Zoo News 629) I covered the story about 'Elephants to be banished from all Zoos'. I thought it was wrong at the time and I still do. I was not questioning the fact that the conditions for elephants could not be drastically improved for some elephants in some zoos. This undoubtedly was the case. What I believed was that the answer was not to shove all the animals out of the back door and hope the problem would go away. These elephants were not going to be 'free'. They were not going to run around unfettered in 40 square miles of wilderness. Far from it. The Ankus would still be the tool of use and most would end up chained to trees for a good part of the time and never experience even the 'freedom' of wandering around in a zoo elephant paddock, regardless of the size. I have worried about this hasty and poorly thought out decision since it was taken. I still do. In fact I wrote ELEPHANT CARE to address and draw attention to some points which animal rights like to ignore. Not all zoos are bad and bad zoos can improve.

The fate of the Indian Zoo Elephants was brought home to me today when I read this story:

Ailing jumbo may return to city zoo

Jaimala could be on its way back to Lucknow zoo. Reason: the elephant has perhaps not been able to acclimatise to the wild environs of Katarniaghat. Its inability to survive in the wild and learn performing the tasks meant for jumbos has led Katarniaghat officials to consider sending Jaimala back to its old habitat -- Lucknow zoo.

"We can't say what's wrong with it", said divisional forest officer Katarniaghat, RK Singh. The other pet (elephant) we have here takes tourists out on rides but Jaimala is not fit to undertake such rides, he said. The 24-year old Jaimala could be sent back to city zoo. The officials, however, agreed they might have to seek the permission of Central Zoo Authority (CZA) to send Jaimala back. "Had it be fine, I might have kept it for tourist rides," said Singh.

Sumit and Jaimala were the pachyderm companions in the zoo before the CZA directives separated them. The CZA order "calling back" elephants from the zoos and circuses all over the country to forests rendered a blow to Sumit and Jaimala's eight-year companionship. Following the orders, Sumit was sent to Dudhwa and Jaimala to Katarniaghat, in May this year.

Sadly, 40-year-old Sumit died three months later. It's worrisome now that Jaimala too is not keeping well. "Zoo doctors can diagnose Jaimala's problem," said the DFO. In zoo, the elephants were used to a relaxed life. They got their daily meals comprising chapatis and sugarcane, occasional baths and hot massages. The vets and keepers kept tab on their health and moods. On the contrary, it's a tough existence in the wild.

Even if the competition with the wild herd is ruled out, existence is a struggle in forests. Elephants have to eat on their own after venturing out. "Where do we have sugarcane here to feed them?" said the DFO. Even the zoo authorities agree that within the confines of zoo it was a comfortable life for elephants. "I can't say what is stopping Jaimala from adjusting to its new home. The animal was hale and hearty here," said zoo director Renu Singh.

The CZA had asked the zoos to send their elephants to national parks, sanctuaries, rehabilitation camps, tiger reserves and forest areas. The CZA said elephants

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Poor old 'Jaimala', I hope the authorities and the few animal rights cultists which have hearts can see their way to allowing the elephants return to Lucknow zoo. Sadly too late for the unfortunate 'Sumit' who has died already. Maybe the animal rights are happy because it died in 'freedom'. A bureaucratic penstroke separated two animals which had been together for eight years. I feel bitter and they are not my animals. I can't even begin to understand how the mahouts felt.


 

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Central Zoo Authority Loses The Plot On White Tigers

Insane Plan Shows Lack Of Understanding

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The Central Zoo Authority have just announced a plan to "to start a rescue centre and captive breeding of highly-endangered white tigers"...to re-introduce to the wild. You can read more HERE. Perhaps it is me who is missing something but I believe that this idea shows a complete lack of understanding as to what a White Tiger actually is.  

It is bad enough that there are already probably more white tigers in captivity than there are in the wild in the whole of India. I have no problem with naturally occurring wild white tigers, as nature intended but to deliberately release into the wild? Hold on there, someone has lost the plot. I believe the proposal is nothing more than a commercial ploy playing upon the ignorance of the gullible. I hope the Supreme Court throw out the proposal with the dishwater.

Read more here : White Tiger Breeding is Not Conservation

And the recent debate on captive white Tigers here: Zooquaria

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