Administrative murder, clear case of cruelty to animals: SP chief over death of cheetah in Kuno National Park

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav Wednesday described the death of a third cheetah in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park as "administrative murder" and a "clear case of cruelty to animals" as he demanded punitive action in the matter.

A female cheetah from South Africa, named Daksha, died in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park on Tuesday, following a violent interaction with a male during a mating attempt, the Union environment ministry said.

This marks the third cheetah death in the park within a month and a half. One of the Namibian cheetahs, Sasha, died due to a kidney-related ailment on March 27, and another cheetah, Uday, from South Africa, died on April 13.  "The death of the third cheetah in Kuno is actually an administrative murder.  The BJP party, which has gathered people only for political showoff also has the responsibility to provide a safe environment to foreign cheetahs free from diseases and mutual conflicts.  "This is a clear case of cruelty to animals, punitive action should be taken in this case," Yadav said in a tweet in Hindi.

The sudden death of cheetahs have conservationists and wildlife experts questioning the carrying capacity of the Kuno National Park and the decision to keep the cheetahs in fenced enclosures.

Experts have decided to release five more cheetahs into the wild before the onset of the monsoon and keep the rest in their fenced acclimatization camps until the monsoon rains get over. They have also decided to open certain internal gates of the fenced enclosures to give more space to cheetahs and allow "interactions between specific males and females."