The shifting of the zoo from the Wildlife Ministry to the Ministry of Tourism has come under fire by activists, with the recently appointed Director-General handing in her resignation.  A few days ago, Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said that the Dehiwela Zoo will be shifted to Piliyandala. He said this move was taken as an attempt to move away from the practice of watching animals locked in cages. It was also revealed that the Dehiwela Zoo spends around Rs. 40 million per month to provide food and other necessities for the animals while around Rs. 6 million is spent on overtime pay to employees.

However, many activists say that the Dehiwela Zoo was much improved with more care and attention given to animals and their wellbeing under the purview of the recently appointed Director-General Ishini Wickremesinghe. But with the breakdown of ministerial portfolios, the Department of Zoology and Botanical Gardens (DZBG) now comes under the purview of the Tourism Ministry, which was one of the reasons for her resignation. Animal Rights activists are also divided over the shifting of the Dehiwela zoo as some claim it will do further injustice to the animals, while several other groups have campaigned for its relocation. 

ZOO OFFICIALS TO STAGE PROTEST?
“Many programmes were initiated under the purview of Ms Ishini Wickremesinghe and even the trade unions collaborated,” said a DZBG official who requested anonymity. “But the decision to take the Department under the purview of the Tourism Ministry was done without proper consultation. It should ideally be under the Wildlife Ministry. Animals are now used to the Dehiwela zoo premises but the Minister is talking about relocating it. What they should be doing is improving facilities at the Dehiwela Zoo and other locations such as Wagolla, Pinnawala and Ridiyagama. In Ridiyagama there are around 300 acres more that need to be developed. The Department and its officials have seen how corruption took place and it was slowly falling in track" he alleged. "The present government is making a mistake. If the government doesn’t revoke their decision the Department staff may stage a silent protest  this week.”

ERRANT BREAKDOWN OF MINISTRIES 
According to environmentalist Nayanaka Ranwella, the zoological gardens should ideally be under the purview of the Wildlife Ministry. “The Ministries have been broken down in an errant manner. What we proposed was to have a Ministry of Environment and National Heritage and have the Archaeology Department, Coast Conservation Department, Central Environment Authority, Wildlife Department and Geological Survey and Mines Bureau together. But now the Tourism Ministry is taking decisions on behalf of the Zoo. So they will increase their income without thinking much about the animals.

The cages are over 75-100 years old and they need to be revamped. Animals are used to this environment and even though it’s a manmade environment they feel that they are in a natural habitat. There are migratory birds who come here as well. In fact, it’s wrong to keep these animals in cages. The zoo is a place where you see prisoners who haven’t done any wrong to mankind. We should actually do away with cages and have cages only in instances when reproduction needs to happen and in cases where rare animals need to be familiarized with the environment.”

We asked how the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage and Ridiyagama safari park can be further improved. “I don't think these places will be improved. Instead, I feel they will cut down on staff numbers and their salaries and even cut down on food given to animals in order to increase their income and cut down on expenditure.  Animals need a lot of food to survive. But there was a little bit of progress under the guidance of Ms Wickremesinghe who has served as its Director-General. But with the shift in portfolios, she has tendered her resignation.”

Ranwella further said that the zoo criteria need to be followed when capturing and releasing animals. “Quarantine policies need to be adhered to. There was an instance when a herd of deer were released near Wilpattu and some of them died and the rest of the group ran to the water out of excitement. In no time they became prey to the crocodiles. Similarly, they cannot capture animals from the wild. There are scientific methods that need to be followed. We also have to think about the stress levels of these animals who have been caged. The way they walk and behave shows the level of stress they are in. We have to change the way we look at animals because we are setting a bad precedent to the younger generation as well.”

TIME TO DO AWAY WITH ZOOS
Animal rights activists have repeatedly voiced against the functioning of the Dehiwela Zoo. 
In 2016 The Otara Foundation did a campaign to shut down the Dehiwala zoo.“We proposed to move the animals out into better spaces elsewhere and to use the Dehiwala land as a park for people which is much needed in our city,” said Otara Gunawardene, founder/CEO of Otara Foundation and Embark.

“We have virtually no green spaces in the city and no lungs for air and recreation in central Colombo except one or two exceptions. At that time I was opposed strongly by the team at the zoo saying the zoo should not be moved out. I was even accused of wanting to take the land which is something I was never interested in. Now it is something they want to do and yes, the animals should be moved to a better place but the land should be conserved as it is an ecosystem full of birds and other animals and also people need green spaces in the city for a healthier lifestyle. This is so important. However, there’s no news about what is going to happen to the land.”

“I believe we don’t need more zoos, it is a dying, cruel concept and we don’t need to encourage more people to be a part of this system of keeping animals captive for our pleasure,” she added. “It is unconscious and outdated. It is also a huge cost to keep building zoos and maintaining them. Our zoos are still not at the standard that is fair and good for the animals to give the freedom, family life and the natural ecosystem they deserve. We use them as objects to do as we please with them for our pleasure and our profit. Besides the Zoo should be under the Ministry of Wildlife as there are many elephants including those at Pinnawala that the Wildlife Department will be able to support better. Apart from elephants they can extend their support in many other areas and are better aligned.”

Adding her thoughts on why this government need to speed the enactment of the Animal Welfare Bill, Gunawardene further said that it is time animals in Sri Lanka are valued as equally important as the environment and humans. “We always think of ourselves first but completely forget that our heartlessness towards other sentient beings is contributing to a system of problems in many other areas such as child abuse, women’s abuse, drugs, alcohol and so much more. Cultivating a compassionate society is a must for a better life for all.”

MINISTRY YET TO HOLD DISCUSSIONS 
However, Tourism Ministry Secretary S. Hettiarachchi said that the Minister only requested for a proposal from the Director-General. “He wanted to review the progress of the work done at the zoo over the past 15 years. Besides the proposal to shift the zoo to another location in Piliyandala is over 10-15 years old. Even a land was obtained for this purpose but now it’s under another Department. We haven’t even come to a discussion stage about this project and it is no easy task to relocate animals just like that. But several animal welfare groups have shown their interest in this move.”

When asked what they are planning to do with the existing premises in the event the zoo is shifted Mr Hettiarachchi said that a business plan should be in place similarly to how the Defense complex was relocated. 

TWO MINISTRIES WILL HAVE TO COLLABORATE
Minister of Wildlife and Forest Conservation C. B Ratnayake said that the Department of Zoology and Botanical Gardens should ideally be under the Wildlife Ministry. “This is because the laboratories, the plant treatment centres, veterinary offices also fall under the Department. However, in the long term, both the Wildlife and Tourism Ministries will have to work together to ensure the wellbeing of animals.”