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Wildlife minister orders multiple probes to clean up zoo
Wildlife Minister Gamini Jayawickrama Perera has ordered National Zoological Gardens (Dehiwala zoo) authorities to take action within two months to address a string of short comings.
The order was given following an eight-hour inspection tour by the Minister and his officials on Thursday. “I have received complaints from the people, environmentalist and several organisations about the lack of facilities, the health of the animals and cruelty issues.
The Minister drops in to say hello to the Ostrich at the zoo. Pic by Athula Devapriya
I am probing these complaints,” Mr. Perera said at a meeting with officials, including those who are attached to the Hambantota Safari Park and the Pinnawala open area zoo.
The minister called for a full report from the Dehiwala Zoo Director P.M. Anura de Silva and staff on animal deaths, births, breeding programmes, exchange programmes and the controversial release of extra animals to the wilds.
Recalling several instances of animals being lost and found, Mr. Perera said this matter was also being probed. He called on the zoo authorities to submit a report within two weeks.
Acting on complaints of cruelty to elephants, the minister urged the zoo keepers and veterinarians to come up with a solution to prevent the chaining of elephants as this practice often caused wounds to their legs.
| Minister responds to ST story on bird smuggling Last week’s Sunday Times story on the flourishing multimillion-rupee bird-and-animal smuggling racket has a tailpiece. Our story said the birds and animals detected by the Customs at the airport while they were being smuggled into the country in PVC pipes and other contraptions are sent to the zoo, but they eventually end up with the smugglers after the zoo officials sent them to transit homes due to lack of facilities at the Dehiwala zoo. Wildlife Minister Gamini Jayawickrama Perera told the Sunday Times he would acquire land in Sigiriya or Dambulla to build a center to keep animals rescued from the smugglers by the Customs. He said he would go to Sigiriya and Dambulla tomorrow to inspect the proposed site. Zoo Director P.M. Anura de Silva told the minster he had discussed the issue Wild life Director General H.D. Ratnayake and the ministry secretary and a decision was taken to set up a centre at Sigiriya. |
The minister also asked the zoo director to carry out a study on the impact of dances, rides and circus acts on the elephants. He also advised the vets and other zoo officials to make elephant-friendly seats for elephant rides.
Zoo officials said that following complaints, elephant dances and rides had been suspended. The minister, during his tour, inspected the Halmahera Parrot cage, the tiger pits, the sea lion enclosure, the penguin area, the ostrich pen, the veterinary section and the zoo museum.
As he walked from enclosure to enclosure, he observed that the garden had many foreign trees and told officials that the zoo needed a landscape improvement.
“Within the 26 acre zoo land, the zoo department can preserve native plants by replacing the foreign plants. There are endemic plants which can also be used as food for animals. The Zoo, the National Botanical Gardens Department and the Wildlife Department must work as one,” Minister Perera said.
He also advised the zoo staff to regularly clean up the bird cages and the parrot feeding area. Noting that the tigers lived in cemented pits with pools of rain water or pits that were far different from their natural habitat, the minister ordered the cages to be changed.
He also called for a report on food prices within the zoo cafeteria and directed the authorities to put up benches for people and small food centers. He said shops should be set up to sell ornaments, souvenirs and educational books for both local and foreigners at affordable prices.
Mr. Perera ordered the zoo authorities to set up a separate section to exhibit endemic fish. Noticing that several cages required urgent repairs, the minister advised the zoo officials to carry out the repairs at the zoo’s workshop itself instead of getting outsiders to attend to them.
He asked the director to send him a list of material and equipment needed to upgrade the workshop. Spelling out his plans to raise the standards of the zoo, the minister said more guides must be recruited to brief the visitors on the animals or there should be recordings near the cages.
Zoo Director Mr. de Silva said they had sent some animals to the zoos in Hambaontota and Pinnawela and only planning to exhibit one good exhibit of each species.
This was because they wanted to maintain the quality while not reducing the number of species. The director said that the plans were underway to bring in some penguins to the zoo.