Animal rights

The concept of animal rights takes a hit every time a 'sher' (usually a tiger) is brought to a PML-N political rally, or a sedated cub is displayed at a wedding (bizarre but true) or animal protection organizations' pleas for funds are ignored. There are those who argue that empathy for animals cannot be expected in a society where humans have been lynched to death. But there is still a need to remind both the government and the people that those that cannot speak for themselves need to be protected without argument. In this respect, Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman and the CITES Management Authority Board's decision to ban the import of exotic mammals must be hailed. The minister has rightly pointed out that housing such animals in unsuitable habitats simply leads to their early death and suffering. CITES was a treaty drawn up by the IUCN in 1963 and ratified by Pakistan in 1976; it calls for humans, as the most powerful beings on Earth, to protect endangered fauna and flora.

What we need in Pakistan is less private zoos and more education regarding animal rights and protection. Our zoos have seen multiple deaths of animals. Just recently, Kaavan, heartbreakingly known as the 'world's loneliest elephant, was finally allowed to leave the solitary life he led in the Islamabad zoo and move to Cambodia. Since 2012, 36-year-old Kaavan had been living a depressing solitary existence in Islamabad's Marghazar Zoo – mostly in chains – after having lost his sole companion Saheli who had died of gangrene. There have also been recent reports of experiments on animals which are not strictly scientifically necessary at universities across the country. We need far more awareness of the rights of animals and how we can protect them from the unrelenting cruelty they face in our country – whether the stray dog outside a building or an elephant from Sri Lanka or a brown bear from Jordan. If nothing else, we need our political parties to stop using animals as props; in this the PML-N needs to send out a strong message to its supporters – no matter what 'sher' the party calls itself. The climate change minister has taken a step in the right direction. We hope now that implementation will follow and private zoos closed down as a preliminary step and a strict ban placed on the import of exotic animals. In time, even public-sector zoos may either need to be shut down or regulated far more strictly given our inability to maintain animals in a responsible and humane manner.