HYDERABAD: Since January this year, nearly seven wild animals have been adopted by various persons in zoos at Tirupati, Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad. Among the adopted animals are two Bengal tigers, two chimpanzees, two crocodiles and one monkey. During the last year, about 20 animals had been adopted and `25 lakh received by zoo authorities. This is according to official records of the zoological parks.“Animal behaviour appears quite superior to human behaviour. That is why I adopted a tiger and advise everybody to adopt animals, so that they are protected,” said former principal of the Gandhi Medical college Pradeep Deshpande.The former principal has adopted a two-year-old male Royal Bengal tiger, Pushpa Kumar who was born and brought up at Nehru Zoological park on April 21. He handed over the cheque for `25,000 to M A Waheed, curator of Nehru Zoo, Hyderabad. Interestingly the tiger cub called Pushpa Kumar has been named by Union minister for rural development Jairam Ramesh. I adopted Pushpa Kumar on the occasion of my grandson’s second birthday, as a unique gift to him.” Elaborating on the reasons for his decision to adopt the tiger, he pointed out that animals are becoming extinct as humans are taking away their land,” he said. “We have got the nod and those who adopt animals will get income tax exemption under section 80G (2&5) of the IT Act-1961,” said Waheed. Any donation made under the animal adoption scheme is eligible for IT exemption, he added. Those who adopt animals will get benefits from the zoo like free entry for family members, display of his/her name outside the animal enclosure and invitation for workshops conducted at the zoo. The adoption is indeed costly but the satisfaction felt is really overwhelming.
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