NEW DELHI: Indian member of Parliament (BJP) and leading animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi has called on the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) in India to remove all hippos from circuses across the country and send them to rescue centers. She said the hippos in all the circuses are blind in order to tame them by the circus administration and trainers, she said. According to BK Gupta, evaluation and monitoring officer with the CZA, there are only three hippos on display in circuses in the country. But Gandhi, in a letter to CZA member-secretary BS Bonal, suggested to form a committee either by the CZA or the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) and “seek a report of all animals in the circuses.” “The circus animals continue to be abused, ill-treated and killed very often,” she said. The MP said that CZA should re-examine registration of all performing animals since beginning till date and rescue all abused animals cancelling their registration. “Registration of all hippos, docked tailed dogs, feather chopped birds be cancelled. These animals should be rescued and rehabilitated by July 25, 2012. Besides, registration of all elephants as performing animals may also be cancelled,” Gandhi said. She has also suggested to introduce fixed retirement and rehabilitation of performing animals and birds.
