Pashu Sandesh, 31st July 2022
The 39th Meeting of the Central Zoo Authority was held today under the chairmanship of the Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav at National Zoological Park, New Delhi.
Highlights of the meeting included the release of two publications -National Studbook for Snow Leopard and the CZA quarterly newsletter, Ex-situ Updates.
The Members were apprised of the following activities undertaken during the financial year 2021-22 by the CZA:
During the meeting, the recommendations of the Technical Committee and Administrative Committee were reviewed and approved. Other deliberations included the Annual report (2021-22) of the Central Zoo Authority and the proposals for the Acquisition/ Transfer of animals between Indian Zoo.
The proposal to identify Ambassadors for Indian Zoos comprising of eminent personalities was also discussed. This was with an intention to garner support for the conservation initiatives taken up by the zoos and also promote multi-sectoral national and international cooperation in this sector.
Central Zoo Authority (CZA), is a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India http://cza.nic.in/. It was established in 1992 through an amendment to the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 to oversee the functioning of Indian zoos and complement wildlife conservation strategies through ex-situ measures. The guiding objective of CZA has been to ensure best practices for housing, upkeep and healthcare of captive animals in Indian zoos. As of today, CZA recognizes 147 zoos. Zoos carry out a multitude of activities ranging from conservation awareness, display of rare fauna, rescue and rehabilitation and conservation breeding programs for threatened species. With close to 80 million annual visitors, zoos serve as learning centres for wildlife conservation and awareness.