Now Reading: Byculla zoo ends morning walks under animal welfare rules
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Byculla zoo ends morning walks under animal welfare rules
The BMC has stopped allowing registered morning walkers into the Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Botanical Garden and Zoo in Byculla, ending a decades-old practice. The move, made last month, follows Central Zoo Authority…
The Story in Brief
The BMC has stopped allowing registered morning walkers into the Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Botanical Garden and Zoo in Byculla, ending a decades-old practice. The move, made last month, follows Central Zoo Authority guidelines requiring animals to have a disturbance-free period before visitor hours. Walkers had used a designated stretch from 6 am to 8 am for Rs 150 a month.
After complaints, authorities plan to open a smaller stretch near the ticketing area, opposite the museum, from the entry plaza. Zoo officials cited complaints of walkers feeding stray dogs and plucking flowers. Garden trustees said the botanical garden predates the zoo and that Mumbai needs more accessible green space.
The Indian Opinion
The easy story is that walkers are either entitled visitors or that animal welfare automatically requires shutting them out. Both claims miss the practical issue. A quiet, supervised route could protect animals while preserving access to one of Mumbai’s few large green spaces. The BMC should publish the new route, timings and enforcement rules, then review complaints after a fixed period. How many violations are actually recorded once the new arrangement begins?
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
