To dress up its report card, Delhi Zoo buried at least 50 animal deaths
23rd May, 2018
OFFICIALS at the National Zoological Park in Delhi (Delhi Zoo)
evidently buried the deaths of at least 50 animals last year and
dressed up data to show a remarkable dip in mortality rate, official
records accessed by The Indian Express show.
The official death
count at the zoo in 2017-18 was 91 from an opening stock of 1,202
animals. On paper, this was good news since it was a sharp fall from
the 325 deaths recorded in 2016-17 — a 7.6 per cent mortality rate
compared to 27 per cent the year before, and just slightly above the 5
per cent considered acceptable for zoos globally.
But the Delhi
Zoo’s numbers are suspect. For, the deaths of several animals were not
recorded: these include endangered species such as the brow-antlered
deer found in Manipur, sambar deer, black buck, white buck, spotted
deer, barking deer, red jungle fowl and palm civet, records show.
Read
full story here
|
