Campaigns

Save the Turtles

Please respond immediately and forward as appropriate.

It has come to our notice that freshwater turtles in the Punjab are being brutally massacred for profit at a scale that puts their very existence at risk. Not only is their killing being carried out in an extremely brutal fashion, there is absolutely no check on the numbers that are being lost daily and how this must be impacting the biodiversity of the river systems.

The Punjab Wildlife Department’s nonchalant response to this crisis proves them unworthy custodians of wildlife in the Punjab. Instead of waiting for legislation to arm them with a right to action they should be actively formulating laws and stretching definitions that would allow them to fulfill their responsibilities. If nothing else, Pakistanâ€™s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act is sufficient authority to put a stop to this.

Turtles are one of the oldest continuing species on this planet, representing over 200 million years of evolutionary history. Their populations should be protected and valued as a national natural heritage.

Please write polite letters to Mr. Muhammad Ayub Tariq, Director General of the Punjab Wildlife Department, and demand that this senseless violence come to an end immediately, that the perpetrators be arrested and fined and the relevant departments made to carry out their mandates.

It is imperative that all correspondence be courteous; otherwise, our campaign will suffer.

Mr. Muhammad Ayub Tariq
Director General
Punjab Wildlife and Parks Department
2-Sanda Road
Lahore, Pakistan

Please also send your letters to editors of leading newspapers in Pakistan.

DAWN
letters@dawn.com

The News
news.post@thenews.com.pk

Daily Times
letters@dailytimes.com.pk

All letters should include the writer’s full name, postal address, e-mail address, and in the case of Pakistan, a day-time telephone number.

Note: Be sure to let us know if a publication prints your letter(s) so we can share your success with other writers.

Thank you for all your efforts in behalf of animals!

Stray Dog Management

The stray dogs of Pakistan need your help.

There are over a 100,000 stray dogs roaming the streets of Karachi, Pakistan. In an attempt to combat the spread of rabies, civic authorities have been killing these dogs by strychnine poisoning and shooting with guns. They have even involved the general public in this by offering cash as reward for every dog killed. The proof? The dog’s tail…

Not only are these methods cruel and excessive, they are also ineffective in reducing animal populations as well as prevention in the spread of rabies. The WHO (World Health Organization) recommended long term strategy of catch/neuter/vaccinate/release is the only effective and humane method for dealing with rabies and stray populations.

According to a news report in Dawn newspaper (May 11, 2005), the Karachi City Nazim (mayor), Niamatullah Khan, has decided to launch a major campaign against stray dogs, saying that “the campaign will continue until their total elimination.” In this regard, he has requested the EDO Health Dr. Khalid Hussain Shaikh to provide the “required number of capsules for killing stray dogs”. Remember, this money will be coming from your tax ruppees.

On a meeting with the City Nazim on May 9, 2005, a concerned group of citizens urged the Nazim to consider the WHO recommended strategy, but according to a May 11 report in Dawn newspaper http://dawn.com/2005/05/11/local2.htm, the suggestion seems to have been dismissed altogether by him.

There is another meeting scheduled with the Nazim on May 30, 2005 in this regard. We urge you to voice your opinion publicly in any capacity regarding the implementation of the WHO recommended humane strategy as the time to do that is now.

Please write a polite email/letter to the Karachi City Nazim to insist that killing dogs is an ineffective approach and has never worked in Pakistan or any other country of the world. Remind him that under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1890, there is a penalty for cruelty to animals, punishable with a fine and imprisonment. Please urge him to stop the mindless killing of dogs and consider implementing a strategy that has been scientifically proven to be effective in many cities of the world.

Let us put an end to the madness. Together we can make it happen.

Karachi City Nazim
citynazim@karachicity.gov.pk
City Complex, Civic Center, Hasan Square,
Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Gulshan Town, Karachi
Off: 9232401,9232400
Fax: 9215117-9232406
Mob: 0300-8256154