Zoos, Etawah Lion Safari face a meaty problem
Carnivorous animals at the Kanpur Zoological Park have been put on a “forced fast” since Wednesday morning as the zoo administration has run short of meat supply.
Supply was also hit at the Lucknow zoo and Lion Safari in Etawah. Director, Lucknow zoo, Anupam Gupta said the supply of meat had been affected in the last two days. “We have decided to switch to mutton and chicken until the issue gets resolved,” he said. As the crackdown on slaughterhouses continued, three pairs of lions at Etawah Lion Safari, one of the pet projects of former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, had to suffer hunger pangs for the want of meat.
The safari authorities arranged 35 kg mutton but none of the big cats and two cubs ate it. Two of them failed to withstand hunger took little meat on Wednesday but left most of it.
The Safari has three lions (Vigo, Manan and Pataudi), three lionesses (Jessica, Heer and Kunwari) and two cubs (Shimba and Sultan). They require 60 kilograms of buffalo meat per day.
“The animals are extremely agitated, their roars can be heard far and wide,” said an official at the Safari.
“We have informed the office of principal chief conservator of forest and wildlife about the nonavailability of meat. We have received no instructions yet,” he said. Kanpur zoo was the worst as all the four slaughterhouses of the Kanpur Municipal Corporation (KMC) were closed which resulted in the suspension of meat supply for animals.
The animals were seen running from one corner to another in their enclosures waiting for food.
The Kanpur zoo has over 70 carnivorous animals, including lion Ajay and lioness Nandini. A tiger, Abhay, was brought here in 2010 while the pair of lions arrived at the zoo from Raipur on December 11, 2016.
This Royal Bengal Tiger here is the biggest as compared to any other zoo in the country.
“Kanpur zoo requires 150 kilograms of buffalo meat every day. The meat is provided by a contractor who supplied it on Tuesday but could not fetch it today,” a senior official at Kanpur zoo said. “There is no food for animals. The pregnant ones are being given chicken but they are not interested. Many of them have not touched the food since morning,” the officer added.
He said the contractor had expressed inability to supply meat due to the closure of slaughter houses.
“The matter has been taken up with the district magistrate and the municipal commissioner. We will hopefully solve the problem by tomorrow, but for today, the animals will have to be on fast,” he said.
President of Jamiat Quresh (a body of the meat suppliers) Nafis Ahmad alias “Acchey” said there were four slaughter houses in the city which were being run as per the norms of the Kanpur Municipal Corporation (KMC). “All the slaughterhouses have been closed down on the grounds that they are illegal. No animal has been slaughtered since Tuesday and the supply of meat to all outlets has stopped,” Ahmad said.