Gujarat High Court Dismisses Plea Against Lion Safari Park

A pair of Asiatic lions

The Gujarat High Court recently dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) that had raised criticism over the state government's plan of starting a fenced lion safari park for tourists in Gir Forest National Park. The PIL claimed that the park will damage the forest's ecosystem. The petition was filed by a city-based activist named Biren Pandya, who argued that permission for this park was pending for ten years and originally the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) did not give permission for the park. However, on May 18 of this year, the central government refurbished the CZA and "without any inspection (which is necessary) the final permission was granted by the technical committee on June 5." The PIL claimed that setting up a safari park on reserved forest land was in violation of standards of wildlife conservation. It also claimed that 400 hectares of forest area which used to be a haven for lions and other animals had been fenced in the past few years to be made into the safari park. Furthermore, it alleged that 18 lions have already been transferred and the entire lion satellite population has been "wiped out." The court indicated that the petitioner came after much delay and by then physical infrastructure like fencing had already been finished. The goal of this safari park is to cut down on the tourism in Gir Forest and is said to have three zoo-bred lions (one male and two females) for public viewing in a forest environment.

The idea of setting up a lion safari park in the vicinity of Gir Forest is something that generates mixed opinions. On one hand, it can help in regulating the tourist flow in the national park and on the other hand, it may damage the forest ecosystem. Even though this project was given an approval without proper inspection by the CZA, it is still very important to closely monitor it to see that it does not do any major damage to the Gir Forest ecosystem. In addition, the flow of tourism to this park must also be closely monitored. Just because the animals that are to be transferred to the park are zoo-bred does not mean they are used to being around people. They are still wild animals and should be given their space even in captivity. Furthermore, it would be very beneficial that the lions coming to this park should be kept for educational purposes as well as tourism. The goal of having a safari park should not solely be for providing entertainment for local and international tourists; but also for educating the public. That is, the park should also serve as a venue for school groups to learn about lions, other Gir Forest wildlife, the importance importance of conservation, etc. Just like Gir Forest, this safari park should administer strict rules and regulations to the public to ensure that the forest ecosystem is not negatively affected by tourism and other anthropogenic factors. The following suggestions above can help make this lion safari park a reputable place next to Gir Forest.

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