The region’s first walk-through aviary has been accused of illegally trying to buy exotic birds, with member of Lok Sabha and animal activist Maneka Sanjay Gandhi raising questions and asking the Chandigarh administration to immediately stop the “illegal work”.
This follows a complaint by R.K. Garg, president, Second Innings Association. The Chandigarh bird aviary is going to be the region’s first aviary in a forest area, comprising 1,500 exotic birds for public display. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi has written a stern letter to the Chandigarh administrator on this. Earlier, the aviary had courted controversy for alleged major financial irregularities. After the complaint of R.K. Garg, Gandhi in her letter to the Administrator has said, “It has been brought to my notice that the Chandigarh administration has brought out a tender on 22.7.2021 asking to buy 1,500 rare exotic birds for a walk-in aviary. This is illegal. No one is allowed to sell birds in this country and sellers are regularly caught and jailed.”
She further said in the letter, “All collection of animals or birds for public display come under the title of the zoo. No zoo can be started in the country without the permission of the Central Zoo Authority. This has not been taken. At a time when India is host to bird flu which is zoonotic, this is not the time to start this illegal and expensive venture. The current zoos are in a mess with high mortality. This is a waste of money to start a new zoo when the old zoos are not being upgraded in terms of housing for animals, breeding, or food.”