New Delhi: An animal rights group has
urged Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh to reconsider his
decision to send two elephants from Indian zoos to
Turkmenistan as part of an animal-exchange programme.
In a letter to the minister, People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals (PETA) India claimed that the decision
was a blatant violation of the Central Zoo Authority's (CZA)
recent directive requiring that all elephants presently
confined to zoos be shifted to camps, tiger reserves or forest
department facilities at national parks.
"The miserable living conditions of elephants in zoos
as well as the danger that the animals pose to the public
prompted the CZA to initiate the directive.
"It's shocking that the government would allow and
even support actions that would be illegal in India to occur
elsewhere", said Poorva Joshipura, a Peta activist, in a
statement issued here.
The Environment Ministry recently gave approval for
sending two elephants to a zoo in Turkmenistan which had
requested for donation of two jumbos.
It had asked the CZA to execute the proposal under the
animal exchange programme.
PTI
First Published: Friday, October 29, 2010, 18:32