THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister V D Satheesan’s proposal to shift the 170-year-old Thiruvananthapuram zoo to a forest-adjacent location has triggered a major controversy, with the LDF, citizen groups, animal welfare organisations and conservation groups strongly opposing the plan.
Satheesan had on Wednesday suggested relocating the zoo near forest areas such as Neyyar or Palode and converting the existing premises, in the heart of the city, into a major public square on the lines of Madison Square in New York.
The LDF said the zoo was much more than a facility housing animals. “It is an integral part of the capital’s heritage, culture and urban green cover,” said former mayor and CPM leader V K Prasanth. He announced plans for a public campaign under the banner ‘Save Thiruvananthapuram Zoo’.
“We will not allow any move to clear out this historic space,” he said, adding that the zoo’s wooded surroundings, museums, art galleries and botanical ecosystem constitute a unique heritage landscape that should be protected.
“Destroying its unique environment will deal a heavy blow to the city. The intention of this proposal is questionable,” he said.
Mayor V V Rajesh said the proposal should be discussed in a “positive and healthy manner”, taking into account animal habitat, safety, environmental conditions and future requirements of the city. “All relevant aspects have to be examined before arriving at any decision. There needs to be proper study,” he said. According to Rajesh, habitat requirements of the animals at the zoo had changed over the years.
“The atmosphere and environmental conditions in Thiruvananthapuram today are not the same as they were 160 years ago. Pollution levels have increased and temperatures have risen. These changes have an impact on the environment in which the animals live. There were instances of animals escaping from enclosures, causing fright in the city. These issues have to be taken seriously while discussing the zoo’s future,” he said. He added: “Whatever happens, the green character of the space should be preserved.”
‘A ticking bomb’
Animal welfare advocates argued that relocating captive animals to forest fringes could trigger ecological and disease-related risks for surrounding wildlife.
“Relocating a zoo to forest fringes is an ecological disaster waiting to happen. Concentrating captive species near natural habitats creates a ticking bio-hazard bomb of airborne zoonotic diseases that could decimate wild populations. Shifting a zoo to a bigger plot doesn’t erase animal cruelty, it merely expands the boundaries of their imprisonment. The government should instead phase out the concept of zoos,” said Sreedevi S Kartha, a member of People for Animals.