In the next few days, the Coimbatore Corporation will begin a hunt for land to accommodate the Coimbatore Corporation Zoo.
Corporation Commissioner K. Vijayakarthikeyan said that the civic body had applied online to the Central Zoo Authority a couple of months ago, and has been asked to first scout for a land to place the animals in a healthy, spacious environment to get the approval.
Sources familiar with the functioning of the zoo say that at present there are 608 animals and birds in the zoo, classified mini zoo by the authority.
But the zoo does not have any of the facilities that behoves a mini zoo.
The authority says that a mini zoo shall have common wild animal species of the area, locality, or ecosystem the zoo is part of and may have one or two exotic wild animals.
Minimum space required is 12 acre.
The zoo does not have a full-time zoo director, veterinary officer, operation theatre/surgical room, dispensary, a kitchen and zoo education facilities.
The post of the zoo director had remained vacant since October 2014.
The corporation has been scouting for land for the zoo for over five years.
It had first identified a 68.4 acre land in Ettimadai for the zoo.
For various reasons, including the one that the land identified was outside the city limits, it could not proceed to finalise the land.
It then considered the 36-acre old dump yard in Kavundampalayam for the purpose.
The third was a 26-acre plot in Vellanaipatti, near Kalapatti. That too did not materialise. The sources say that as the Central Zoo Authority tightened screws, the civic body was forced to hasten the process.
It then decided to use the ‘Semmozhi Poonga’ grounds on the Coimbatore Central Prison premises for the purpose.
But the lack of ‘enter upon permission’ ensure that the proposal did not materialise.
Finally, the civic body said it would like to annex the VOC Park.
But that was objected to by Councillors saying that the Park was the one among the very few recreation facilities available.
Mayor P. Rajkumar says that the civic body has no idea of closing the zoo, as rumoured.
It will in fact see to it that the zoo is established according to rules on a spacious place with modern amenities.
