Pune: PMC Asks Forest Department To Drop Charges Against Zoo Director, Seeks Return Of Seized Animals
Pune: PMC Asks Forest Department To Drop Charges Against Zoo Director, Seeks Return Of Seized Animals
Pune, June 4, 2025: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has written to the forest department requesting that all charges against the director of the Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Museum in Katraj be withdrawn. The civic body has also urged the department to return the wild animals that were taken during the investigation into alleged mismanagement at the Wild Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (WARRC).
The forest department had filed a case against the zoo director in September 2023 following a complaint by honorary wildlife warden Aditya Paranjape. The allegations included the improper release of 612 wild animals—ranging from birds and reptiles to mammals—outside their natural habitats, mistreatment of protected species like snakes and chausingha, and the lack of records for 328 animals that reportedly died at the centre. The offence was registered under various sections of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
Following these events, the PMC terminated its contract with the Indian Herpetological Society (IHS), the agency responsible for managing WARRC, and shut the centre permanently. The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) later permitted the zoo to retain the rescued animals permanently as of December 8, 2023.
In its letter dated May 30, 2025, the PMC clarified that while there were shortcomings in daily operations at the centre, they were not deliberate. It added that neither the zoo director nor any PMC official should be held responsible and called for the cancellation of the Forest Offence First Report No. WL 1/2023. The PMC also requested that the animals removed during the probe be returned to the zoo.
Meanwhile, the forest department has yet to file a chargesheet against IHS. The forest department is awaiting the civic body’s final report to the Maharashtra Zoo Authority, which will take the final decision in the matter.
Despite PMC’s appeal, wildlife warden Paranjape insisted that accountability is essential. “The authorities must identify and take action against those actually responsible for the lapses, rather than letting the matter slide,” he said.
