- Madhya Pradesh spends nearly Rs 35,000 daily on goat meat for cheetahs at Kuno Park
- No separate budget exists for cheetah food; funds diverted from other heads as needed
- Kuno houses 35 cheetahs, fed based on veterinary needs, with no fixed goat feeding number
Crores of rupees are being spent on feeding cheetahs at Kuno National Park, with the Madhya Pradesh government revealing in the Assembly that nearly Rs 35,000 is being spent every single day on goat meat for the big cats. The explosive figures surfaced during Question Hour after Congress MLA Mukesh Malhotra sought detailed information about food expenditure under the ambitious Project Cheetah.
In a written reply, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav stated that a total of Rs 1,27,10,870 was spent on purchasing goat meat in 2024-25. When broken down over 365 days, the average daily expenditure comes to approximately Rs 34,825, effectively Rs 35,000 per day.
In a significant admission, the Chief Minister clarified that there is no separate budget provision for cheetah food. Instead, funds are diverted from other heads "as required." The government further stated that there is no fixed standard for the number of goats fed daily. Meat is supplied based on veterinary need and monitoring assessments.
Currently, Kuno houses 35 adult, semi-adult and India-born cheetahs. MLA Mukesh Malhotra had asked pointed questions in the Assembly:
What is the annual allocation for cheetah food? How many goats are fed per day? Are crores being spent on goat purchases? Are cheetahs or leopards preying on cattle in nearby villages? Did lack of food lead to the death of a leopard in a road accident on December 6, 2025? What action has been taken against officials?
The government denied claims that cheetahs were being deprived of food and maintained that a dedicated monitoring team is working around the clock.
Regarding the December 6 leopard death, the reply clarified that it was due to a road accident and not linked to food shortage. It also acknowledged that leopards occasionally prey on cattle in rural areas while roaming in open forest stretches, but ruled out any punitive action against officials.
Kuno National Park in Sheopur district became India's first home to African cheetahs on September 17, 2022, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi released eight cheetahs brought from Namibia. In February 2023, twelve more cheetahs from South Africa were added, marking a major step in India's ambitious reintroduction programme.
The project is now entering a new phase. On February 28, eight more cheetahs, two males and six females from Botswana, are slated for translocation to India. Meanwhile, Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in western Madhya Pradesh has also emerged as a second home for African cheetahs, currently housing a South African male coalition and a female.
