CZA asked to reject Mum zoo's plea on imprisoning elephants

PETA said it has written a letter to CZA urging it to reject Mumbai's Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan Zoo's attempt to circumvent the CZA's order requiring that all 140 elephants held in zoos and circuses across India be transferred to camps and sanctuaries operated by the Forest Department.

In the letter, PETA explains that the ages of the two elephants at the zoo – Laxmi (53) and Anarkali (46) – are reason enough to make their transfer on a priority basis. PETA recommends that a team of independent experts who have no connection to the zoo evaluate these elephants in order to work out a relocation schedule.

In the letter, Dharmesh Solanki stated, "The Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan Zoo is wholly unsuited to meet the complex needs of elephants. The ability to walk about freely is critical to an elephant's physical and emotional health." "We urge you not to capitulate to transparent attempts to defy the CZA's edict," the letter said. However, the zoo authorities were not available for comments.