Animal lover given clean chit over charges of running unauthorized 'zoo' in Karnataka

UDUPI: The JMFC court in Kundapur has cleared an animal lover Sudhindra Aithal of charges of running an unauthorized 'zoo' near his house in Saligrama in Udupi district.

Aithal began rearing various species of animals around 12 years ago. He was accused of collecting a fee from visitors. Forest department officials had produced the accused before the court, but he was freed of all charges for want of evidence after a prolonged trial of 12 years.

Aithal ran a small animal rescue centre near his house in Saligrama, a town by the side of NH 66 in Udupi district. Those visiting the famous Sri Gurunarasimha Temple on NH 66 used to visit his ‘Mrigaloka’ too to see rescued animals being treated there. He had parrots, pigeons, rabbits, 25 pairs of lovebirds, emus and 16 different breeds of dogs, among others.

Some years back, a Bengaluru based NGO had complained to the authorities, saying he was not taking care of the animals and that they were in captivity against the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act. However, Aithal won the case.

But Aithal still faced a case filed against him by the forest cell of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Bengaluru, though he was successful in getting bail from the court long back.

An elated Aithal told The New Indian Express on Friday that he was happy that truth triumphed at last. "I rescued the injured animals and treated them to help them recover fast. But the forest department officials did not realise that. Finally, the court has come to my rescue," he said.

Aithal is also a reptile lover. This year he was in the news on the occasion of the Nagara Panchami festival on July 25 as he offered treatment to an injured cobra, fed it milk and took care of it at his house after offering ‘puja’. The reptile was injured by an earthmover during the excavation of soil.