The Central Zoo Authority has told the Karnataka High Court to formulate SOPs for entry of zoo staff into animal enclosures

A keeper at Mangaluru’s Pilikula Biological Park quenches a hippo’s thirst while cleaning its enclosure. | Photo credit: file photo

The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) on Wednesday informed the Karnataka High Court that an expert committee has been set up to come up with a standard operating procedure (SOP) to guide the entry of staff, veterinarians and others into animal enclosures at zoos across the country.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice KS Hemalekha heard a PIL petition filed by Mangaluru-based Bhuvan M., a wildlife conservationist and herpetologist pursuing MSc in Applied Wildlife Conservation in the UK.

Expert panel

Counsel for the CZA also submitted to the committee a copy of the notice issued in May on the establishment of the committee and the terms and conditions and references provided to the committee. The bench disposed of the petition after taking cognizance of the fact that CZA is in the process of formulating SOPs.

The petitioner approached the CZA to consider its representation and take steps to formulate SOPs after the CZA revealed in response to an inquiry by the VPÚ that SOPs had not been issued for staff entering the animal enclosures. The petitioner argued that this regulatory loophole directly contributed to a number of preventable zoo tragedies.

17 incidents

The petition cited 17 incidents in zoos across the country in the last decade, including seven animal attacks in Karnataka. The petitioner referred to the March 2026 incident in which a veterinary practitioner was killed by a pregnant hippopotamus at the Tyavarekoppa Tiger and Lion Safari in Shivamogga and the February 2026 incident in which a contract employee at the Bannerghatta Biological Park impaled a leopard with an iron net.

Published – 24 Jun 2026 19:03 IST