The parliamentary committee on the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock suggested running the Dhaka Zoo by those who know animals and their food habits.
Otherwise the Dhaka Zoo will suffer much, they said in a report.
At the moment, the zoo is maintained by those who lack knowledge about proper food for animals – resulting poor quality of food supply, the committee observed.
A sub-committee was formed on February 17 to probe the irregularities in the zoo which submitted its report to the panel on Thursday.
The zoo authorities do not maintain the food chart for the animals and its quantity does not meet the global standards, the report said.
Moreover, the zoo does not have equipments to measure formalin in the food supplied for the animals.
The report quotes deputy curator of the zoo, Masudul Hasan, saying that the animals are given inadequate food.
Asked why, the sub-committee convenor Zafar Iqbal Siddique said the animals brought from abroad are supplied with food based on their ‘purchase time age’, meaning it was applicable when the animals were brought.
‘But the animals need additional food and nutrition in proportion to their age which is being ignored,’ he told bdnews24.com.
However, the zoo curator Enayet Hossain has brushed off the allegations saying they supply adequate food for the animals.
‘We have the chart (on supplying foods),’ he claimed adding that they would be able to provide details once they get the panel’s report.
Jatiya Party lawmaker Siddique said they have sought the ministry’s response within a week based on the report.
The probe report said it found most of the zoo officials ‘ignorant’ about their duties and responsibilities which, it pointed out, was hampering the zoo’s overall development.
The zoo’s management and administrative structure is deteriorating, it said.
Professor Gazi Syed Asmat of department of zoology at Chittagong University said it is a ‘matter of regret’ that those responsible for the animals did not have enough knowledge about what to feed them.
‘Animals in the Dhaka Zoo mainly die of malnutrition,’ he told bdnews24.com.
‘These incidents of death will continue unless they are supplied with food that suits their age and weather,’ Asmat said.
The parliamentary panel has recommended developing ‘affiliations’ with other leading zoos in the world aiming to train the officials responsible for the animals so that they can acquire proper knowledge about the animals’ eating habits, food and its quantity.
It also advocated appointing experienced zoologists at the national zoo and to maintain a strict bio-security policy there.
The committee has recommended freeing the zoo from ‘political influences’ which prevented officials from discharging their duties properly.
It said the move was necessary for the sake of the zoo’s overall development and building up a corruption-free administrative system.
Lawmaker Siddique said the parliamentary panel has given necessary directives to the concerned officials.
Other measures such as removing all illegal establishments on both sides of the street from the Sony Cinema Hall to the zoo were also recommended.
‘Now the ministry has implement the recommendations,’ he said.
-With New Age input
