Kolkata: Principal Secretary of state Forest department, Debal Roy, urged the West Bengal Zoo Authority (WBZA) to consider an adoption programme of animals that are presently off display after being brought for treatment at the zoo hospital.
“Following the amendment of the Wildlife Protection Act in 2022, the animals that are seized in the border areas of Siliguri, Nadia, and North 24-Parganas while being illegally traded from South America and Africa are sent to the Alipore Zoo Hospital for treatment. With legal proceedings continuing, they have to be kept in captivity. They can neither be released in the wild nor put in public display at the zoo. So, I will urge the WBZA to consider an adoption programme for these off-display animals that are in captivity for quite a long time,” Roy said at the culmination ceremony of the 150th anniversary of Alipore Zoo. A senior zoo official said that the number of off-display animals at Alipore Zoo has now crossed 50.
The zoo’s animal adoption policy, launched in 2013, has received an excellent response from both corporates and individuals. In September 2021, Alipore Zoo introduced a monthly adoption programme after receiving requests—especially from students—to lower the adoption cost or allow shorter-term fostering to fit their budgets.
The adoption scheme offers incentives such as celebrating the adopted animal’s birthday inside the zoo and granting permission to use the animal’s photograph for publication in newspapers, magazines, and on the letterhead or website of an individual or institution.
Forest minister Birbaha Hansda stated that the work of the Forest department’s on-field staff is even more challenging than that of the police, as they must manage interactions between humans and animals while ensuring peaceful coexistence.
“I consider myself an employee of this department because I regard it as a family. This department provides fresh oxygen and rejuvenates you when your spirit is low,” she added.
The minister, along with other dignitaries, also inaugurated a newly digitised library named after Sir Jyotindra Mohan Tagore, one of the zoo’s original patrons, giving the historic collection a modern form.