But that was not all. In June the National Cattle Commission closed down the sole abattoir supplying beef to the zoo for violating provisions of the Orissa Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act. The carnivores were left high and dry and are still subsisting on a mixed diet of buffalo meat, mutton and chicken.
Earlier, the animals were fed about 850 kg of beef per day. In the absence of licensed suppliers of beef and dearth of buffalo meat in Orissa, this has come down to around 700 kg per day.