In sterling action, the local administration of Nanded district, Maharashtra had seized and relocated all animals in the possession of Moonlight Circus, camped in Nanded. PFA Hyderabad led the on ground rescue operation.
The rescue of the animals from Moonlight Circus was made possible as a result of the Animal Welfare Board of India and the Central Zoo Authority withdrawing regulatory clearances from the circus. Special thanks to Union Environment and Forests Minister Shri Prakash Javadekar and Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi. Thanks are also due to the District Collector and Superintendent of Police of Nanded.
The birds, camel, horses and dogs were shifted to PFA Wardha. The four rescued circus elephants had been shifted to the Wildlife SOS Elephant Care Center where the animals will be rehabilitated over time.
The rescue was a joint effort of animal protection organisations from across India – FIAPO, PFA Hyderabad, PFA Pune, PFA Uttarakhand, PFA Wardha, PETA, RAWW, Thane SPCA & Wildlife SOS.
