India, June 3 -- Two years after a forest offence was registered under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has formally requested the forest department to withdraw the case filed against its zoo director and other officials. The PMC maintains that the irregularities observed at the now-defunct wildlife orphanage were administrative lapses-not deliberate violations.

In a letter dated May 30, the PMC also requested the return of a four-horned antelope and a jackal that were seized by the forest department during an inspection in June 2023. The civic body noted that it has since secured retrospective approval from the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) for housing these animals, granted on December 8, 2023.

T...