While our friends in Maharashtra are still reeling from the newly established ban on sale and consumption of beef, we chanced upon this story.
One would associate absolute non-vegetarianism with carnivores, right? Not the Maharashtrian government though. The ban extends to the lunch bowls of tigers, lions and other animal residents of Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai, The New York Times reports.
Nine Bengal tigers, three lions, 14 leopards and three vultures are surviving on a bird-diet in this national park. Namely, chicken.
In the pre-ban era, the animals used to consume a hearty meal that was a mix of beef, water buffalo and chicken. But with the ban on beef, and the lack of buff in Mumbai market, chicken is all they get now.
Do they like the lighter diet? “Babu Vishnukote, one of the feeders, says the animals are devouring the chicken, which he sees as a good sign,” NYT reports.
But does the new diet affect their health?
Shailesh Bhagwan Deore, who oversees the diet of the animals in the park, thinks that it “might eventually deplete the animals’ strength.”
“In fresh beef, the animals get the taste of blood,” Deore said. “They enjoy that.”