This is the final part of the three-part series on ‘animal plight in the Delhi zoo‘ as a part of the Justicemakers’ Writer’s Training Program, run in partnership with Agami and Ashoka’s Law For All Initiative. The first and second parts can be found here and here.
We have many zoos in and around India. The oldest existing zoo is in Kolkata, the Marble Palace Zoo, which was established in 1854. There are 145 recognised zoos in India as of January 31, 2020.
Guidelines have been devised by the Central Zoo Authority for facilitating the effective and scientific management of zoos in India. Rules (Recognition of Zoo Rules) have been formed with a view to give proper direction and thrust to the operations of the zoos.
Zoos play a crucial role in the captive breeding of endangered species, but there has long been a debate about the existence of zoos: on whether they should or shouldn’t.
The Zoo Versus No Zoo Debate
The zoo supporters say that captive animals serve as conservation “ambassadors” for their wild counterparts. They say that zoos are like a “Noah’s ark”—that provide a buffer against the decline of endangered species. In reality, this is a script that even the zoo industry has quietly abandoned.
The opponents of zoos such as Marc Bekoff, a behavioural ecologist and professor emeritus at the University of Colorado, argue that an animal’s life in captivity is a shadow of its experience in the wild.
Proponents of zoos such as the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, counter argue by saying that the conservation benefits zoos provide outweigh the isolated costs paid by the animals involved. While the debate rages on about zoo versus no zoo, let us look at the status of the Delhi Zoo in India.
More Than 450 Animals Died In Three Years
More than 450 animals of the Delhi Zoo have died since 2018, a right to information, or RTI request by activist Vivek Pandey revealed. There were a lot of unnatural deaths due to shock or trauma, but the root cause of these deaths is still unclear and the number of deaths might be higher.
What can be done about this? Vivek says: ”As far as I am concerned, the government needs to strictly focus on the system that manages the animals, especially the endangered ones.“
The veterinary hospital and staff members of a zoo are directly responsible for the well-being of all its animals.
Treating Zoo Animals Is A Tough Task
According to Rule 10, subrule (31):
All the recognised zoos in India have been provided with basic animal healthcare facilities as per the category of the zoo and its animal collection. This includes linkages with eminent institutions and organisations working in the field of wild animal healthcare,
This should suffice for the day-to-day management of the zoo and the healthcare of the animals kept there. An exact diagnosis of the cause of sickness in a zoo animal and providing it with effective treatment, is a very challenging task.
No zoo can be self-sufficient both in terms of technical expertise and diagnostic as well as investigative facilities, required for ensuring the comprehensive healthcare of the large variety of animals housed in the zoo.
How Many Animals Were Referred To Bareilly?
It is, therefore, incumbent upon every zoo to augment its healthcare facilities by entering into an agreement with a local, regional veterinary university, college, large veterinary hospital, capable of providing appropriate scientific inputs for the diagnosis of the diseases of sick animals.
Such a hospital will also give the zoos advice on the proposed line of treatment of the disease, as well as on preventive measures to safeguard against the recurrence of the disease.
The Central Zoo Authority has signed MoU (memorandum of understanding) with the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bareilly, to act as the National Referral Centre, to provide super specialised services and diagnostic facilities, for the sake of better health of the animals at the Delhi zoo.
But, we need to find how many animals were actually referred to Bareilly in the first place.
What Is The National Referral Centre For?
There are many provisions for the healthcare of animals. In case the zoos feel that the organisations they have partnered up with, in the region, are not able to provide the required specialised healthcare, they can approach the National Referral Centre for:
(a) Getting baseline data on the health parameters of various species of animals;
(b) Microbiological, bio-chemical and pathological analysis of the samples taken from live animals;
(c) Histopathological and forensic examination of tissues and organs of dead animals.
What About The Health Advisory Committee?
RTI activist Pandey added that, “A team or a special agency should be set up for the proper monitoring of wild animals in the zoo. Routine checkups by veterinarians should be made a mandatory provision that can prevent the deaths of animals. Seasonal illness of animals and its prevention should be strictly looked upon. Old animals’ special care chambers should be set up.“
Apart from that, in terms of the policy, there is a provision for the constitution of the Health Advisory Committee. The committee should include experienced veterinarians with a professor of veterinary college, eminent wildlife, a zoo veterinarian as its chairman, and the senior veterinary officer of the zoo as its coordinator.
The committee would advise the zoo on all matters related to sanitation, hygiene, prophylactics, nutrition, and the management of sick animals.
Why Is Record-Keeping So Important?
Record-keeping is very important for zoos, according to Rule 10, sub rule (26). Every zoo should have a mechanism for the recording of observations regarding the social, biological, and reproductive behaviour.
The records should also track the health status of zoo animals including preventive and curative treatment provided birth, care of young ones, sicknesses, and mortalities.
The zookeeper’s diary should compile the important aspects of the reports submitted by keepers from different sections and beats. Record-keeping is important, and digital record-keeping even more so, to mitigate misreporting from zoos about the death of animals.
Staying At Par With International Standards
The zoos should endeavour to acquire and become members of national and international record-keeping system softwares like the International Species Information System (ISIS).
The best practices from the European Union (EU) directives can be inculcated in India. EU’s Zoos Directive can be referred to, for it talks about how the daily health record-keeping is used to prevent the deaths of the animals in zoos.
Taking a cue from them, we can think of inserting microchips and transponders under the skin of animals, for proper tracking. This will help resolve a lot of issues related to missing animals.
Government Grants For Animal Conservation
Grant fellowships can also be utilised for the betterment of animals. The Ministry of Environment & Forests also gives fellowships for carrying out research on wildlife, namely:
the Salim Ali Fellowship for carrying out studies on birds, and
the Kailash Sankhala Award for carrying out studies on wild animals.
All Animal Needs Should Be Met By Zoos
Rule 10, sub rule (23), are to do with watching the general behaviour and healthcare of animals. Treatment to any animal should be provided causing minimum possible stress to it.
Zoo officials need to take care of the fact that animals are placed in compatible groups, keeping normal movement behaviour patterns in mind i.e. climbing, walking, and flying.
Animals should be given enough space to fulfill their digging, burrowing needs. Also, they need to be given enough shrubs, bushes, and trees for swinging and clawing.
We Have The Funds, Not The Will
Things to remember: there is no paucity of legal provisions and funds for the proper development of zoos, only that the authorities need the will to understand the needs of animals.
To give you an idea, in response to the RTI filed by Pandey, it was revealed that ₹41 crore, ₹23.18 crore and ₹23.02 crore was the budget of the Delhi Zoo, for the years 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively. But, the zoo authorities only spent ₹7.09 lakh, ₹14.89 lakh and ₹10.41 lakh on medical expenses.
Hence, it is high time we utilise the resources available to save innocent animal lives in zoos.
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REFERENCES:
- https://cza.nic.in/uploads/documents/guidelines/english/G-1.pdf
- https://cza.nic.in/annual-reports-of-zoos/e
- https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/transformation/zoos-are-problem-not-solution-to-animal-conservation/
- https://wellingtonzoo.com/animals/animal-care/
- https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/pdf/EU_Zoos_Directive_Good_Practices.pdf