IANS

New Delhi, Sep 16: Citing deaths of animals in captivity, activists of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India Wednesday staged a demonstration in front of the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) here and called for a shut down of all zoos.

Following a recent case at a zoo in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, where 13 cheetals and a swamp deer died, the animals rights organisation called for the closure of all zoos and held banners saying "Let Animals Show Their True Colours - Shut All Zoos".

The activists said that the zoos' "manufactured habitats" prevent animals from engaging in "natural behaviour such as flying, swimming, running, hunting, climbing, scavenging and selecting a mate".

"Zoos claim that they protect species from extinction, however incidents such as the recent deaths at Kanpur Zoo prove that their claims are a farce," said PETA's Ashish Verma adding that they have been asking "the CZA to take strict action against all zoos that violate animal safety norms and close them down immediately".

Verma also recalled that since 2007 the animal death toll in zoos was rising.

As per PETA's statistics, in 2007, five deer died as a result of trauma and suffocation at the Kinnerasani Deer Park in Andhra Pradesh and 12 deer died of pneumonia at the Tripura Zoo.

"In the same year, 13 black bucks died at the Aurangabad Municipal Zoo, and five spotted deer died of cardiac arrest at the Sepahijala Zoo in Tripura. Shortly thereafter, 13 black bucks died at the Binkadakatti Zoo following a dog attack. In September of last year, five black bucks at Kanpur Zoo died of unknown causes," Verma said.