12-14 Cheetahs To Be Brought From Africa Over Next 5 Years: Union Minister

Nearly 12-14 cheetahs are intended to be brought from South Africa, Namibia, and other African Countries over a period of upcoming five years as per the Action Plan, Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ashwini Kumar Choubey on Thursday informed Rajya Sabha.

"The government of India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of the Republic of Namibia on 'Wildlife Conservation and Sustainable Biodiversity Utilization' on 20th July 2022," Union Minister said in a written reply to the Upper House.

The minister went on to say that Rs 38.70 crore under the ongoing Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Project Tiger has been allocated to the cheetah introduction project for the years 2021-22 to 2025-26 besides funding support of Rs 29.47 Crore under Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) which includes the cost of Cheetah introduction, management, and maintenance.

On the question of the number of the cheetah in acclimatization enclosures and the number of cheetahs who have undergone ailments, diseases, whether any cheetahs have experienced miscarriage, Mr Choubey said, "There are no Cheetahs under quarantine. All eight Cheetahs have been released in larger acclimatization enclosures. No health complications have been reported in the introduced Cheetahs."

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