Congress Seva Dal protests outside Alipore Zoo over alleged animal trafficking from Kolkata to Gujarat

Congress Seva Dal staged a protest outside Alipore Zoo in Kolkata, alleging that 51 animals were transferred from the zoo to Gujarat on April 2, 2023, covering a distance of 2,300 kilometres. Protesters claimed the transfer was conducted without public disclosure and demanded answers from zoo authorities regarding the animals' movement and current condition.

According to an FIR filed by Professor Dr. Mahalaya Chatterjee at Alipore Police Station, 312 species of animals have gone missing from the zoo over the past three years. The FIR states that the missing animals include 59 rare species. The timeline of these disappearances coincides with the establishment of the “Vantara” project, which was launched during the same period.

On June 16, in the European Parliament, Green Party MP Tilly Metz alleged that the “Vantara” project is linked to an international animal trafficking network and claimed that over 10,000 animals have been illegally collected under its name in the past three years. In the protest, INTUC Seva Dal demanded that either the missing animals be returned or Narendra Modi and Anant Ambani be kept in cages as display objects.