The crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses and meat shops by the Yogi Adityanath-led government is forcing lions and tigers of Lucknow Zoo to eat chicken and mutton. Similarly, the lions of Etawah Safari, too, are surviving on white meat since Tuesday.
According to zoo authorities, they require 235 kg of buffalo meat every day, but the supply from the past two days is just 80 kg. Lions are kept on bird-diet only till they are cubs, after that they are given buffalo meat, says a Times of India report.
As of now, there are 47 wild animals including seven tigers, four white tigers, eight lions, eight panthers, 12 wild cats, two hyena, two wolfs and two jackal, who are dependent on non-vegetarian diet.
Other animals are also given mutton and chicken and are relishing the different diet, and seemingly enjoying the change.
Delivery of meat to the city zoo has become a topic of concern for the administration ever since the ban was imposed. Until now, a contractor for the city used to deliver the required quantity of meat, but following the stringent action on illegal abattoirs, zoo administration is now trying to roll in a contractor who can import meat from authorised sources outside the city and fulfil the demand.
“We are feeding mutton and chicken, but that is hardly adequate for them due to low fat percentage. It's a lean diet for them. The average consumption of a big cat is 8 to 10 kg of beef daily, which is missing since the past three days,” an official of Etawah Lion Safari was quoted by Times of India as saying.
Within two days after Yogi Adityanath was sworn-in as the new UP CM, authorities launched a crackdown on slaughterhouses sealing seven meat-processing units in Meerut, three abattoirs in Aligarh, three in Allahabad, and one abattoir and 16 meat shops in Mathura.
