Veermata Jijabai Udyan and zoo, Byculla, Mumbai

Veermata Jijabai Udyan and zoo, Byculla, Mumbai, Observations on 23^rd February, 2006 – People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals  (PeTA) :

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1. Elephant Rajkumar has been tied up for over 5 months now non stop.

       1.1 He can barely lift his foot although he is struggling to.  

       1.2 There is a large, untreated abrasion on his left hind leg.

       1.3 This elephant was favoring her left hind leg.  She was trying not to step on it, and kept it lifted and bent.  She is very thin.  

       1.4 This is supposed to be a dry moat for the elephants.  This moat needs a barrier as the elephants can fall in it.

       1.5  The retiring cubicle for the leopards with broken flooring, dirty walls and rusted iron bars.  Visitors are able to look into this   cubicle so the leopard never gets any rest from the stress of the visitors.  

2. The bars are severely sharp and rusted in places, posing a threat to both leopards and the visitors.  

       2.1 The leopard enclosures are barren with no enrichment.

3. Crammed into his small den, the bear does not even move when crows harass him.

       3.1 The visitor was throwing garbage at the bear in his enclosure.  Nothing was done to stop him.  

4. There is no water in the deer enclosure, and it is strewn with rocks.  

5. The water level in the crocodile’s pond is so shallow that their backs are always exposed to the sun and they can never submerge to get away from the stress of the visitors. 

       5.1 The crocodile enclosure was dirty, with debris floating in the water. 

      5.2 There was rubbish in the crocodile’s water, including plastic and newspaper.

      5.3 This zookeeper drank water from the crocodile’s pond …. 

       5.4 ….. and spat it back in.

6. The hyena enclosure.

      6.1 This is the food given to the hyenas.  They are nocturnal animals and should be fed at night and allowed to sleep in the day.  The food was given in the afternoon.

      6.2 The hyena looks on while the crows eat his food. 

7. There is a hole in the black swan cage window that is big enough for a visitor to reach his hand in.

8. The hippo enclosure is very small with no enrichment. 

9.  The enclosure for the rhino is still totally barren.  

      9.1 The water in the rhinoceros enclosure is dirty, stagnant and far too low. 

      9.2 There is not enough water for the rhino to submerge himself. 

10. This visitor was giving gutka to the monkeys.  No zoo personnel intervened or stopped him.

     10.1 The monkey enclosure is filthy, and the ancient banana  peels show that it has not been cleaned for a long time.

     10.2 This langur is living alone.

11. The water bird enclosure is barren.