(This article has been written in the backdrop of a female penguin dying three days ago at Mumbai’s Byculla zoo. The move to bring eight flightless birds is being criticised, with the opposition in Maharashtra targeting Yuva Sena Chief Aaditya Thackeray who was the brain behind bringing the flightless birds in July this year. Nearly Rs 24 crore was spent in bringing the birds from Chile and Peru)
Dear Mr Thackeray,
Let me first offer my heartfelt condolences to you and your family. I know the Humboldt Penguins are a family favourite, had it not been for your passion, fascination and perseverance, the Aam Mumbaikar and the larger Marathi Manoos would never have dreamt of seeing one. In fact, a cursory research tells me he'd not even have heard of such a bird. And that's not because he's ignorant, it's just that the daily struggle of life keeps him so busy and stressed, penguins are the last thing that come to his mind.
Of course, there's a possibility that your research will differ, and this would be his single-largest demand, or why else would you go out of the way to bring them in?
In fact, you seem to be so shaken by the incident that neither you nor your illustrious father, whose idea it was to make Mumbai a world-class city by caging penguins, has come out to condemn the death.
Alien Bird Dies in Amchi Mumbai
But then, isn't it so unfortunate that even before the poor manoos has had a darshan of the birds, they must start dying? Agreed, we lost only one out of eight, but then is there any way you or your loyal zoo director could guarantee their well-being? And the reason I say this is because of the way the situation has panned out so far.
Consider this. We have a tricky situation on hand. A bird completely alien to all our private vets here in Amchi Mumbai fell ill. Neither has your zoo director ever handled a PENGUIN, nor have the accomplished experts in the neighbouring Parel hospital. In fact, past experience tells us that their competence in even handling street dogs and cats is suspect, but that's a different matter.
Under the circumstances, what hope do we have of these experts ever diagnosing the causes of Dory’s death? (By the way, was DORY your name for the girl? Pity we can never find her again!). Had they been capable, I am sure we could have picked up early symptoms of trouble and given Dory a good chance to survive and have a darshan of the Aam Mumbaikar.
I may have been a little hopeful if we had a sensible person in your zoo director, but when a person of his position goes on record saying “a PENGUIN swallows its food as a whole, so it can’t be tested”, you know all is lost. Going by his statement, we should never test a pill or capsule, since we swallow them as a whole!
Ensuring Well-Being of the Remaining Ones
So we have experts who know nothing of penguins, a director who knows nothing of what he's talking about, and a city which has no vets with enough experience of handling this bird. How can I ask you to guarantee their well-being? To compound the situation, we now know that Dory died of food poisoning, and that's a big problem on your hands. If the birds are eating fish from coastal Maharashtra, there's a fat chance that not only will the remaining birds come under serious and perpetual threat, but also the Marathi manoos, who has now come to relish his duck fish as much as his vada pav!
The remaining seven, are probably already infected or are counting their days. And that's the most unfortunate state. For while Dory may soon disappear from memory, the penguins won't. Your incredible contractual acumen will come into play, and we will have fresh lives infused again and again to keep the bathtub and world-class quarantine you have created amidst the ruins and debris bursting with life. And ridden with the stench of death!
Send the Penguins Back
Corporate life has taught me to always place a solution behind a problem, and so here it is. First, let's stop being on either side of the table, and become one team. If you will understand and accept that bringing in penguins was a terrible idea and are willing to solve the problem, I am delighted to partner with you. And the next step is to recognise the fact that no place in India is good enough for them, and they have no hope of surviving here.
And therefore, we find a sanctuary in an ecosystem that's closest to their natural being and ship them there. A friend of mine is already on the task and we should be able to find some places and even have discussions with them on your behalf to make this possible.
Spare Some Thought for Animal Welfare
Together we bid a happy farewell to the seven before we are forced to bid them a tearful adieu. And then, once we have them deposited safely, look at the state of the zoo, the animals, the facilities, or the lack of them, and see what we can collectively do to make life better and safer for them all. I can promise you the support of the most sincere animal lovers, experts and vets to come together as a team to make life better for the remaining inmates.
We form a team of citizens and your officials and see how we can make this a role model in a co-owned partnership to change social obligations. The question is simple, Mr Thackeray. Are you here to use penguins to score brownie points or show you care for lives that shouldn't be suffering to boost false egos. If you agree, come – let's shake hands and make history!
(The writer is a Mumbai-based animal welfare activist. He can be reached @anandsiva. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)