I was watching the movie - Madagascar after a long time. Nobody who saw the movie must have forgotten the song. The song is not the reason I wanted to write this post. The movie reminded me of the time I visited the Mysore zoo in the year 2004. The zoo is huge and covers many acres. Almost all animals are present except maybe penguins. I remember seeing even African elephants.
The animals were miserable. The zoo visitors threw food like peanuts which were scattered everywhere and the smell was horrible. The lions and tigers were literally jailed. I do not know if there was a fenced closure behind the cages but it seemed like a small cage with less height for the lions which were looking very sad and desolate. Who wouldn't?
I do not know if the government or other authorities will seriously think about closing such zoos. In my opinion, they should let the animals be shifted to wildlife parks or such because caging animals for the sake of human entertainment is a crime.
Mysore Zoo (Now Mysuru Zoo)[4] (officially the Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens) is a 157-acre (64 ha) zoo located near the palace in Mysore, India. It is one of the oldest and most popular zoos in India, and is home to a wide range of species (168). Mysore Zoo is one of the city’s most popular attractions.
The zoo witnessed a series of animal deaths in 2004 and 2005. In August 2004, a Lion-tailed macaque was found mysteriously dead.[10] An emu and a tiger were also reported to have died mysteriously. On 4 September 2004, an elephant died, reportedly of acute hemorrhagic enteritis and respiratory distress. It was reported that the illness in elephants was due to poisoning. As a safety measure, the zoo authority suspended several staff members who were allegedly responsible for the "gruesome killings". Laboratory tests later confirmed that the two elephants, named Ganesha and Roopa, had been poisoned.[11] This was followed by another elephant death (Komala) on 7 September despite heightened security. Komala had been scheduled to be transferred to Armenia in about a month.[12]
On 24 October 2005 another elephant, Rohan along with his mate Ansul, died with suspicions of poisoning. The elephants were supposed to be sent to Armenia as a goodwill gesture. The Chief Minister of Karnataka immediately ordered a probe into the death of Ansul and Rohan.
4 January 2017, The zoo announced that it was hit by avian influenza. Lab reports confirmed that six free-ranging and migratory birds died due to avian influenza (H5N8) in late December. The monthlong closure is the longest for the 124-year-old Mysore Zoo
Source - Wikipedia
What do you feel about this issue?
Have you visited a zoo and did you like it?
Animals should not be caged and displayed in zoos. The circus was a means of entertainment during the past decades and I remember going to watch shows once or twice in my childhood. The animals were not treated properly and eventually, there was an effective ban on the ownership and display of animals.
The circus as we had seen it is absent now. All for the best.
The next thing that should be penalized is factory farming. The way the poultry is treated and the cattle too is heartwrenching. The poultry is also treated with drugs and god knows what to fatten it and prevent the meat from going bad. This not only affects the animals but also the humans who consume the meat.
