Chief Minister Conrad Sangma today clarified that there is no move to shift the Hoolock gibbons (Huro) from the Sonja Wildlife Rescue Centre, Tura to the Meghalaya State Zoo at Umtrew, Ri-Bhoi district.
“The government has not decided to shift the Hoolock gibbons (Huro) from their current location,” Sangma said in a post on microblogging site X.
He said that it is incorrect that the government is shifting them, though Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has proposed it.
Sangma pointed out that the recent press statement from the government only clarifies that the current location is not as per CZA specification.
Yesterday, the Tura Garo Senior Citizens’ Forum (TGSCF) along with the New Tura Development Forum (NTDF), Garo Hills Environmental Protection Society (GHEPS) and the Garo Graduates’ Union (GGU) have appealed to Sangma to ensure the Hoolock gibbons are not relocated elsewhere from Garo Hills.
On the statement made by the State government that the Sonja Rescue Centre does not meet CZA standards and thus lacks its approval, the groups observed that while this might be true, serious attention has neither been given to improve and upgrade the existing rehabilitation centre nor appropriate steps have been taken to rehabilitate the animals, although they were housed in the centre for quite a long period, reportedly for more than 15 years.
The groups felt that instead of shifting the Hoolock gibbons to the upcoming zoo at Umtrew and elsewhere in the country, efforts should be made to retain the animals and appropriate steps should be taken to relocate them elsewhere in Garo Hills itself if the existing rescue centre at Tura is not suitable to house the animals and the site is not a natural habitat for them.
