WAZA suspends Delhi zoo’s membership for six months

African elephant Shankar was gifted in 1996 to the then President Shankar Dayal Sharma by Zimbabwe. File photo
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

World Association of Zoo and Aquarium, a global alliance, suspended the membership of Delhi’s National Zoological Park for six months, over concerns related to the welfare of the African elephant Shankar, who has been kept chained in his enclosure. through a letter to the Central Zoo Authority on Monday.

The CEO of WAZA had visited the zoo and had met officials of the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), a statutory body of the Government of India and had raised concerns about the mistreatment of animals, Sanjay Shukla, member secretary of the CZA, told The Hindu.

“The issue of the African elephant Shankar being in chains was brought up. The elephant was shackled because it was in ‘musth’ (a biological state in male elephants marked by increased aggression) and had broken a wall,” Mr. Shukla said.

“Secondly, this elephant is without a mate and we have entered into a deal with Botswana to ship a female elephant from there. We expect the matter to be resolved soon,” he added.

WAZA is a non-governmental organisation and sets accreditation standards that member- zoos across the world adhere to which gives the latter prestige. A zoo being suspended means it cannot attend conferences or activities organised by WAZA, said Mr. Shukla.

The WAZA did not respond to questions about the situation, however, they told The Hindu that the Delhi Zoo is under a six-month suspension due to a breach of the WAZA Code of Ethics.

Shankar, the African elephant was gifted in 1996 to the then President of India Shankar Dayal Sharma by Zimbabwe. His companion, Bambai, another African Elephant died in 2005.