Chemical research on zoo animals?

The Asian Age: Mumbai: Friday, 27 March 2015.

Taking exception to the chemical tests being carried out on the animals at Byculla Zoo and the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), members of Plants and Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) met chief minister Devendra Fadnavis at Vidhan Bhavan requesting him to conduct an investigation into the same.

Eight months ago the organisation had filed an RTI query demanding the details of the chemical tests being carried out on the zoo and SGNP park animals and their reactions on them. The PAWS got the RTI reply only last month.

After four misleading replies from the Byculla zoo, they then acquired the details from the Bombay Veterinary College which revealed the shocking facts.

“Mr Fadnavis heard our request and we also provided him with detailed evidences based on the RTI reply. After reviewing our report and patiently listening to us, he has forwarded the investigation into the matter. We are optimistic the matter will fuel concern after this,” said Sunish Subramanian, secretary, PAWS. Mr Subramanian who has worked to procure the papers related to the chemical tests for the last eight months said that various other important departments have also began doing their bit. “The Animal Welfare Board of India has also forwarded letters to Wildlife Crime Control Borad, Central Zoo Authority and Chief Wildlife Warden. Apart from them, the DCF has also heard our request,” he said. According to the RTI, chemical experiments were carried out on captive tigers and deer in the Byculla zoo and SGNP.

The researches were conducted for a dissertation by two students from the Bombay Veterinary College in 2001. The chemical researches were conducted to understand pharmacology or the reactions of drugs on animals. While all the tigers showed inverse effects to the drug administration, one of the deer died during the experiment in the zoo the RTI said.

The side effects of anesthesia, which was used in the experiment to understand its reaction on animals, were huge such as apnea, severe, respiratory distress, vomiting, and excessive salivation. The above side effects were observed in five out of 11 trials conducted on the tigers. Two deer had also succumbed to the experimentation leading to their death.