Animals in Lucknow Zoo face lockdown blues

Lucknow, April 6 (IANS) It is not only humans who are facing the hardships during the national lockdown. Animals too are facing problems, mainly food.

The carnivorous inmates of the Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Garden have been affected by the disruption in supplies of fodder, meat and vegetables.

The zoo that has over 1,000 inmates, including birds and reptiles, is facing problems in providing food to the animals.

Zoo Director R.K. Singh said that of the total animals lodged in the zoo, around 45 are carnivorous.

“We need around 200 kg of meat every day for these animals. Since the Janata Curfew on March 22 and the subsequent lockdown, the local meat suppliers refused to meet the whopping demand of 200 kg a day. In any case, the district administration had shut down all meat shops in the state capital.”

The zoo authorities then contacted a slaughterhouse in Unnao that agreed to supply frozen meat which is now being given to the carnivorous animals.

Mubarak Ali, one of the oldest zoo staffers who has been feeding carnivores for almost 31 years now, said: “The animals do not relish frozen meat. Their quantity of meat consumption is going down.”

The zoo authorities have managed to restore the supplies of fodder, vegetables and fruits for other animals.

However, the zoo seems to be heading for a major financial crisis due to the lockdown.

The Director said, “This is not a state government zoo but is managed by the Prince of Wales Zoological Garden Trust. We solely depend on income from tickets and this has stopped due to the lockdown. It is now becoming difficult to pay the salaries of the staff which is around Rs 55 lakh per month. A sum of around Rs 35 lakh is spent on food.”

The Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Garden, earlier known as Prince of Wales Zoological Garden, was established in1921 in order to commemorate the arrival of the Prince of Wales to Lucknow.

The park was conceived by the then Governor Sir Harcourt Butler and the complex was established in the 18th century garden set up by Nawab Nasiruddin Haider, the then nawab of Oudh. Initially, it was known as Bandariya Bagh and the Nawabs of spent their leisure time amid lush greenery,

The zoo records suggest that the park was established between 1921 to 1926, comprising 26 buildings, at the total cost of Rs 2,08,800.

In 1966, its administrative control was given to the Forest Department and the advisory board was reorganised and the Principal Secretary, Forest, and Chief Wildlife Wardenwas made its administrator.

In 2015, the name of the zoological park was changed from Prince of Wales Zoological Gardens to Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Garden.

–IANS

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