GUWAHATI : The recent action of the Assam State Zoo led to staging of a protest among activists of the Chiriakhana Suraksha Mancha. Once again, Assam state zoo has transferred animals to a private zoo owned by the Ambanis in Gujarat, it was alleged.
Nine species of monkeys, two rhino calves, and many eight-horned deer along with few other animals, were shifted to the Ambani's Greens Zoological Rescue and Rehabilitation Kingdom at Jamnagar in Gujarat.
The transfer of the animals took place on Wednesday night. This action of the state zoo has led to reactions in Guwahati. The activists of Chiriakhana Suraksha Mancha led a protest for one hour against the shifting of wild animals and some rare exotic species from the state zoo to other zoos in the country.
The activists claimed that this activity has been carried out by the authority since 2018. They have allegedly transferred a total of almost 1100 animal species from Assam to zoos in other states in the name of exchange.
Rajkumar Baishya, the general secretary of the Mancha stated that, as compared to Assam, only 19 animals from other zoos has been transferred in our state. He further continues by saying that a woman protester was manhandled by a few people during the protest, from the zoo department.
The gathering completely was against this behaviour and demanded legal action by the state government. The episode took place when the protesters tried to detach the tarpaulin from one vehicle, where the animals that were about to get shifted was kept, stated Baishya.
The protesters highly condemned this violent incident. However, the allegation was refused by the Assam State Zoo Divisional Forest Officer, Ashwini Kumar. The Forum has decided to organise a meeting regarding the matter in Guwahati on Saturday.
The prime motive of this programme is to spread awareness among the citizens of Guwahati, about the ongoing activities of the concerned department. Last month, the Assam Youth wing also appealed the Guwahati High Court to put a ban on illegal transfer of animals from the state zoo to Gujarat.
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