The Indian government has announced plans to set up a Centre for Zoo Sciences to aid recognised Indian zoos and zoos in the wider South Asia region in welfare development, training and scientific research.

Speaking at the annual conference for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), Indian environment minister Prakash Javadekar said the centre would include facilities for teaching, research, experiments and the sharing of ideas.

"We are thinking of setting up a Centre for Zoo Sciences in New Delhi to bring about a turnaround in the functioning of the zoos and to infuse scientific and technical culture in the present system and make our zoos more visitor friendly," he added.

The proposed centre would act as a technical advisor to India’s existing Central Zoo Authority (CZA) and provide expert advice, training and support in conservation and breeding of endangered species. The centre would also act as a hub for zoos, overseeing wild animal housing, zoo design, master planning, disease diagnosis, visitor facilitations, marketing and other related issues for all the zoos in South Asia.

Javadekar also said that part of the centre’s remit would be to handle disaster management in zoos, following a spate of recent incidents in the country where visitors inadvertently found themselves in danger, most recently resulting in the death of a 20-year-old man in Delhi Zoo.