The Wildlife Society of Orissa (WSO) has alleged that the Nandankanan Zoo has kept pangolins in captivity in violation of the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) policy on captive breeding , rules regarding ban on procurement of wild specimens for zoos and the Wildlife Protection Act,1972.
WSO secretary Biswajit Mohanty in a letter to the Member Secretary, CZA, New Delhi, has urged for the early release of all captive bred, seized and rescued pangolins in the Nandankanan Zoo into the wild.
Notably, in 2009, the Nandankanan Zoo had started a pangolin conservation breeding centre duly authorised by the CZA with an objective of ex-situ breeding followed by release into the wild. The zoo has a total stock of 23 pangolins as of now.
Similarly, since November 9, 2007, the zoo has received 24 pangolins including two babies. Except for one pangolin from the Visakhapatnam, all the rest 23 pangolins were either seized or rescued from the wild in various parts of Odisha.
Mohanty told that pangolins whether captive bred or seized or rescued were supposed to be released into the wild. He also urged the CZA to reassess the need for continuing the pangolin conservation breeding programme run in the zoo, which, he said, had failed to achieve its stated purpose despite expenditure of nearly Rs 46 lakh.