A workers’ union has accused senior officials at the Delhi zoo of orchestrating the killing of a jackal and concealing it, shining a spotlight on the treatment of captive animals in India.
In a letter to the environment ministry, the National Zoo Workers’ Union said four jackals escaped through a gap in their enclosure’s fencing in November because of “gross administrative negligence, lack of supervision and failure of management to maintain safety standards”.
One jackal strayed into the enclosure of a Himalayan black bear. The ranger in charge of the area, Manoj Kumar, didn’t follow rescue or containment procedures and instead devised “an illegal plan to kill the jackal by burning it alive inside the bear’s burrow”, the letter, seen by The Independent, alleged.
“Since the animal is a carnivore and there’s limited food supply in the zoo, they ultimately returned to their closure,” a zoo staffer said. “Except one jackal that remained at large before entering the bear enclosure.”
The union’s letter alleged Mr Kumar had labourers pour chilli powder into the burrow before setting it alight.
“They perhaps hoped that smoke and smell of chilli powder would make the jackal escape the burrow. It made the air inside the burrow toxic. The jackal also had some burn injuries,” a zoo official, who requested not to be named, told The Independent.
“While this in itself was cruel, the workers were directed by Mr Kumar to incinerate the body of the jackal instead of sending it for post-mortem – a process established under law.”
It was not clear, however, whether the jackal died from suffocation or burn injuries.
In its letter, the union said this act of “extreme cruelty and unlawful killing” should attract penalties under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960.
The Wildlife Protection Act is the main law safeguarding wild animals and regulating zoos in the country.
The union further alleged that Mr Kumar had the same workers enter the burrow two days later to retrieve the remains. He directed them to dispose of the carcass secretly without informing the zoo’s veterinary staff. This, it said, violated protocol mandating the reporting of any animal’s death to a zoo veterinarian and its transfer to the onsite hospital for a post-mortem.
The director of the zoo became aware of the incident but failed to prevent it or report it to higher authorities, the union alleged.
Taken together, the letter argues, these failures point to cognisable criminal offences, abuse of position, destruction of evidence and a “complete breakdown of governance”.
The episode also breaches binding guidelines issued by the Central Zoo Authority and undermines the country’s stated commitment to wildlife conservation, the letter says.
Citing the seriousness of the incident and the alleged involvement of senior officials, the union urged the ministry to order an independent investigation and immediately suspend those allegedly involved to prevent evidence tampering. It also emphasised the need to preserve CCTV footage from 14 to 20 December 2025, saying the recordings were “vital electronic evidence” and must not be altered, erased or destroyed.
The union’s letter prompted a visit by a team of environment ministry officials to the zoo on Tuesday.
The Independent contacted the zoo’s director and joint director as well as the ranger Manoj Kumar but did not receive a response.
The director, Sanjeet Kumar, told The Indian Express that no such incident had been reported internally and that the number of jackals tallied with official records. As per its latest annual inventory from March, the Delhi zoo held four male, two female and three unsexed jackals.
“One allegation has been received. The joint director has been asked to enquire into the allegation,” he said.
The joint director, Nair Vishnuraj Narendran, said he was out of town and would start the inquiry after returning to Delhi.
