New Delhi, Aug 9 (IANS) Union Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave on Tuesday said that the reasons for the death of two lions in Uttar Pradesh breeding centre will be probed.
He was replying to Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, who raised the matter in the Lok Sabha, noting the lions were a goodwill gift from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, then the Gujarat Chief Minister, for Uttar Pradesh's lion safari in Etawah, a dream project of state Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.
"I thank the Prime Minister.. when he was chief minister of Gujarat, we requested lions and he gave them to us, the exact number. But then two lions died. I request to get the reason behind their death probed. If it was our mistake, then we will improve it," Yadav said.
In response, Dave said: "Its a serious matter and if possible and if the viscera is available, I will do my best to get it inspected."
Four pairs of lions were bought to lion breeding centre in UP in 2013. Out of them, one pair was from Hyderabad and three were from Gujarat. All pairs were bred in captivity and not from the wild.
In 2014, a lion named Vishnu and a lioness named Laxmi died in Etawah. The pair was bought from Hyderabad.
