A suspect has been booked by Baghdadi police for allegedly beating a stray dog to death with stones and sticks, Samaa has reported. The case has been registered under Sections 34 and 429 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
As per details, the incident took place on August 10 at 6pm at Madina Masjid Road in Lyari, Karachi.
The locals of the area said that that the dog attacked a two-year-old Bilal, adding that they contacted welfare organisations many times but they did not get any response.
A video went viral on social media yesterday, in which, a man can be seen beating a tied up dog with a stick in front of a mob. However, the details of the incident were unclear.
Animal abuse and zoos in Pakistan have long drawn international condemnation for their mistreatment of animals. Last year, on December 16, Islamabad’s Marghazar Zoo was shut down after the Islamabad High Court ordered for Kaavan the elephant and two brown bears Babloo and Suzie to be relocated to sanctuaries abroad.
A man has been caught beating a lion cub on camera. In a video that is being widely circulated on social media, the man named Saad can be seen beating the young cub while dragging him with a chain. The cub’s heartwrenching cries can also be heard in the video.
The video sparked outrage on social media with several prominent personalities including Fatima Bhutto demanding the cub be rescued by authorities. Lahore-based JFK Animal Rescue And Shelter has also urged the government to stop licensing wild animals to individuals privately, saying that every third person in Pakistan now owns a lion as a pet.
The animal rescue service also initiated an online petition for this purpose and urged people to raise their voices for these animals. According to JFK, by owning a licence in Pakistan you can buy, sell or import lions and tigers and do whatever you want to do to them. In the recent past, multiple cases of animal abuse and violation have been reported.
The animal rights organisation also explained that lion and tiger owners, declaw them, beat them, cage them, take their teeth out and later use them for breeding where they open entire breeding farms and then sell the cubs for money.
“Once anybody gets the license there is no check and balance, and every other person is allowed to do all sorts of evil things to these wild animals behind closed walls. Many also torture them for TikTok and social media videos,” reads the petition.
“Many times lions are used as props and kept as slaves. People deprive them of their natural habitats and give them a miserable life. We have seen multiple cases of this abuse in a single year and now we want to deal with the root cause which is these licences, these licenses should be cancelled and there should be a complete ban on owning wild animals as pets,” it adds.
Fatima Bhutto also requested her followers to sign the petition and urged the government to rescue such wild animals from captivity.
Meanwhile, lawyers Ahmad Pansota and Hassaan Khan Niazi have taken up the case and have promised to file a petition before the court on the matter.
The lion cub abuse case has been taken up by Hassan niazi who will be fighting it and Muhammad Ahmad Pansota who is filing a petition against the license that lets you keep wild animals as pets. Please continue praying and supporting @GFarooqi@GFarooqi@Pansota1@petapic.twitter.com/o8qI6W3ijA
— JFK Animal Rescue And Shelter (@jfkshelter) May 3, 2021
Netizens and animal rights activists have protested vehemently after a video of the couple’s photoshoot emerged on social media. As per details, the photo of the shoot was posted on Studio Afzl’s — a Lahore-based photography studio that does bridal photoshoots and covers weddings — Instagram account.
In one picture, the couple can be seen holding hands over the cub while in another, the lion cub was lying looking miserable on the stage. The hashtag #SherdiRani was also used in the pictures with the cub to give an emphasis on its presence.
While, the issue was first highlighted by JFK Animal Rescue and Shelter, it later got traction after it was shared on Twitter by ‘Save the Wild’: a group that is fighting to “save Pakistan’s wildlife from the threats of hunting, loss of habitat and pesticides”.
Following the tweet, other Twitter users also urged authorities to take action against the studio for mistreating the cub.
What’s wrong with people, a sedated Lion Cub as “prop” the couple starting a new life & the studio who did that should be ashamed, it’s about time @GovtofPunjabPK must rethink their “captive breeding” policy, from political rallies to wedding shoots, animals as Props, it’s sick
I hope they wake up from their slumber, the only positive I can take out of this whole incident is the public outcry. I hope the cub is rescued and rehabilitated into a more suitable environment.
I need details of this #animalcruelty Where did it take place Who are bride and grooms Who was the wedding photographer Most importantly who provided this Lion cub, We need to expose this underground Mafia breed Lions in captivity#endcaptivity@wildpakistanpic.twitter.com/NiyuGbtMeQ
The Sindh High Court has ordered the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and Karachi Zoo administration to shift Rano from her 25-foot wide Victorian ‘grotto’ pit to another open cage, reportedly 500 times bigger than her current enclosure.
According to a report in Samaa News, the court ordered authorities to immediately shift the 20-year-old Syrian brown bear, who has been living a solitary life for the last three years. The instructions, recommended by a five-member team formed to evaluate the condition of the bear and the zoo, were passed on an interim basis until a final decision is taken.
It has been reported that the new cage is spread over 2,100 square feet and is on ground level, unlike her previous enclosure which was an underground pit. However, it too requires some improvisations.
@spar_pk speaking after court hearing on Rano. As an interim measure, while the lawyers from the Sindh Govt asked for more time, @spar_pk lawyers pushed and got an order to relocate Rano immediately to an adjacent space which is an above ground cage, pic.twitter.com/xwWBrSr9vE
Rano’s plight had sparked nationwide protests in the summer following which 38 people signed a petition filed in the Sindh High Court by Barrister Mohsin Shahwani on October 1, 2020. In the application, the petitioners had highlighted the animal’s plight and had alleged that the bear was not being well taken care of and was not being fed on time. The petition has demanded Rano be sent back to Skardu so that she can be among her own.
In the successive hearing on October 5, the court had instructed KMC to install an air-cooler inside Rano’s enclosure to provide her some relief. It also ordered authorities to present the zoo’s budget and details of details, expressing anger over the fact that there was only one doctor for all animals at the zoo.
According to animal experts, Rano is suffering from emotional and psychological distress which is why she is often seen panting heavily and roaming in circles. The Society for the Protection of Animal Rights (SPAR) is hopeful that Rano, in her new temporary cage, is able to move around easily, explore and play with items of an enrichment program, be able to see zoo activities, birds, trees and other animals and have a less lonely, stressed life.
For now.Till the next hearing.We will follow up with the Karachi Zoo management to ensure the new space is as per her needs,as defined in the report we submitted which was discussed in court today along with the reports of the previous court appointed committee. Source @spar_pk
Meanwhile, Islamabad’s Marghazar Zoo — which drew international condemnation for its treatment of lonely elephant Kaavan — shut down on December 16 after its final occupants Babloo and Suzie were relocated to a sanctuary inJordan.
As per details, the Himalayan brown bears suffer from psychological problems due to living in a substandard enclosure, with the female Suzie undergoing major surgery in the summer after a tumour was removed from her chest. Local vets were unable to stitch up seven inches open cut in the centre of her chest and she developed an infection. Four Paws vets, who arrived in August, operated on Suzie again and cleaned the infected wound. This was also the reason why sanctuaries within Pakistan refused to take them in.
“She is now recovering and healthy. Both bears are doing well physically now that we have put them on a better nutritional diet of fruits and vegetables. Suzie had diarrhoea all the time because she was mostly fed milk,” a spokesperson for Four Paws, Marion Lombard had told local media outlets.
Several celebrities including Hamza Ali Abbasi and Mehwish Hayat have called for zoos across the country to be shut down given the mistreatment of animals there.
Mehwish Hayat has requested authorities to close all zoos across the country, saying “animals are born free”.
Sharing a news article about the relocation of animals from Islamabad Marghazar Zoo, Mehwish commented: “In a country where we’re still fighting for human rights, animal rights are a long way off.”
Hinting towards Kaavan’s recent relocation to Cambodia after an intense campaign led by US pop icon Cher, Mehwish further wrote: “Why do we only take action when foreign celebrities get involved?”
“This is so embarrassing,” she added.
In a country where we’re still fighting for human rights,animal rights are a long way off. But come on,why do we only take action when foreign celebrities get involved?This is so embarrassing.Animals are born free- the authorities must shut these zoos now!https://t.co/jY6MzNXu7W
Meanwhile, Islamabad Zoo’s last remaining animals Bubloo and Suzie are all set to leave for Jordan on December 17. The Islamabad High Court in its order had stated that the zoo was not fit enough for animals and had requested authorities to move all animals there to temporary sanctuaries.
We are happy that the Ministry of Climate Change & the IWMB took yet another decision in favour of animal welfare. This week we will bring the bears to its Jordanian sanctuary Al Ma’Wa for Nature and Wildlife, which is run together by Princess Alia Foundation.
