Alipore Zoo plans adoption for off-display animals

Kolkata: Buoyed by the success of its animal adoption scheme, the Alipore Zoological Garden is actively considering extending the programme to animals that are currently off display after being brought to the zoo hospital for treatment.

“We have already begun discussions with our governing body, the West Bengal Zoo Authority, on the modalities of an adoption scheme for animals housed in the zoo hospital,” said Tripti Sah, Director of Alipore Zoo.

The proposal was first mooted in September last year, when principal secretary of the state Forest Department, Debal Roy, while speaking at the culmination ceremony of the 150th anniversary of Alipore Zoo, urged the West Bengal Zoo Authority to consider an adoption programme for animals undergoing treatment at the zoo hospital.

According to a senior Forest Department official, following amendments to the Wildlife (Protection) Act in 2022, animals seized in 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. As legal proceedings remain pending, these animals have to be kept in captivity. They can neither be released into the wild nor put on public display at the zoo.

As a result, the state government has to incur substantial expenditure for their upkeep. An adoption scheme for such off-display animals in captivity would help reduce dependence on government funds, the official said.

At present, the number of off-display animals is no less than the number of animals on public display at the zoo.

The animal adoption policy was introduced at Alipore Zoo in 2013 and has received an encouraging response, with both corporates and individuals adopting animals. In September 2021, the zoo introduced a monthly adoption programme following requests from many people—particularly students—to lower adoption costs or allow fostering for shorter durations to suit their budgets.

Apart from incentives such as celebrating the adopted animal’s birthday inside the zoo, the scheme also allows adopters to use the animal’s photograph for publication in newspapers and magazines, as well as on the letterheads and websites of individuals or institutions.