Kolkata: The Bengal forest dept has proposed that zoos in the state shift to feeding goat meat to its carnivorous animals as the supply of buffalo meat is drying up, a move that may significantly increase the zoos’ meat procurement cost, officials said on Tuesday.“We recently met meat suppliers. I had proposed that we consider providing goat meat (to zoo animals). This may be applicable to zoos across the state,” forest minister Manoj Kumar Oraon said on Tuesday.Sources said the annual bill for meat procurement at the Alipore zoo may rise by Rs 3 crore to Rs 5 crore if the plan is implemented. The zoo’s current annual food bill is around Rs 4.5 crore-Rs 5 crore.Buffalo meat has been the primary food for the state zoos’ tigers, lions, wolves, hyenas, leopards and jaguars.According to officials, the minister assured meat suppliers that the govt would try to resolve the supply issue at the earliest.Till then, carnivorous animals at the zoos may be fed goat meat without compromising on the quantity or nutritional quality of their diet.Sources said the Alipore zoo buys around 300kg meat a day, or 7,800kg a month. Boneless buffalo meat costs around Rs 300 a kg and bone-in meat is priced at approximately Rs 290 a kg. The zoo also buys nearly 3,000 kg buffalo mince annually at around Rs 290 per kg.In comparison, the procurement of goat meat has been limited to around 3 kg a day, or around 950 kg a year.Goat meat is considerably more expensive, with boneless cuts costing nearly Rs 800 per kg, bone-in meat around Rs 750 per kg and goat mince approximately Rs 720 per kg.A zoo official said the proposed transition could pose logistical challenges for suppliers because of high demand for goat and lamb meat in Kolkata markets.A senior veterinarian in the animal resources development department said the overall annual procurement quantity is unlikely to change significantly. “For human consumption, goats weighing 6-8 kg are preferred. But for the zoo carnivores, I think goats weighing more than 15 kg are needed. Both meat and bone will be preferred,” he said.Calls to Alipore zoo director Tripti Sah went unanswered.
