The Balochi black bear, according to her caretaker, “does each and everything on time”. Some children are standing at the edge of the pit where Emma can roam free and as she turns towards her cage, they throw food pellets and fruit at her to grab her attention. Emma, unlike other animals of her breed, ignores the childish assaults and enters her bedroom, a small cage at the corner of the pit.

More here.

KARACHI, Jan 4: The city government is yet to take any steps to alleviate the suffering of the lone female leopard kept in unnatural conditions in the CDGK’s Korangi-Landhi zoo and being ‘targeted’ by visitors for fun. During a visit to the zoo last week, the cemented floor of the cage was found littered with stones, big enough to cause serious injuries, plastic bottles and sticks, a sure sign of the cruel treatment the big cat had been subjected to over the weeks.

More here.

Here is the editorial in its entirety:

WILD animals, if they are bred in captivity or made captive through some cruel stroke of fate, ought to be given sanctuary. They need to live in an environment that at least resembles their natural habitat. They can be a source of awe and wonderment for the onlooker but must never be treated as a means of amusement. But visit any zoo in Pakistan and you will see exotic species living – if you can call it that – in cages or concrete enclosures, listless or driven to neurosis, biting off their own tails, pacing about repetitively and plucking plumage in an involuntary frenzy. That is because they are seriously unwell, for the conditions they must endure are enough to drive any living creature insane. Animals in our zoos are poked and prodded by visitors who exemplify all that is callous about this country. Mental well-being aside, zoo animals are also neglected physically by apathetic, incompetent or resource-strapped authorities. Little surprise then that the mortality rate in Pakistan’s zoos is unacceptably high. We should hang our heads in shame because we have failed miserably in catering to the needs of the non-human animals entrusted to our care. Anyone who cages an animal should pause for a second and think how it would feel if the same were done to him or her.

Given our track record, Pakistan does not deserve zoos of any sort, public or private. If the photograph of the leopard languishing in Karachi’s Korangi-Landhi zoo that appeared in this paper a few weeks ago did not break the hearts of all right-thinking people then we have stopped being human. Cognitive skills may differ but animals feel trauma just like we do. What we have in this country are freak shows, not zoos where endangered animals are protected or bred for the propagation of the species. When animals die in our zoos we import replacements, as if they were spare parts, and the cycle of cruelty continues. The choice is clear: we should either run zoos the way they should be or not at all. There can be no middle ground.

The local media has been crying hoarse about captive animal abuse in our zoos for quite some time now. Here are a few reports from DAWN alone:

2002

Oldest bear dies at Lahore zoo

2004

Chimpanzee Tinku dies at Lahore Zoo

Origin unknown

Need to shift Lahore zoo

2005

Another leopard attack

2007

Lahore zoo

Another Lahore zoo tiger dies

13 animals die at Jallo in three months

KARACHI: Zoo death toll mounts

Caring for zoo animals

KARACHI: Disease, cruelty killing zoo animals

HYDERABAD: Another deer dies in zoo

Zoo condition

KARACHI : Another spotted deer dies in zoo

2008

A dying breed

Rani Bagh under threat

Mistreatment of animals at zoo

Karachi Zoo

Animal power, please

Pathetic treatment for animals

Poor state of zoos

HYDERABAD: Death of fourth deer jolts dist govt into action

Condemned to die of neglect

KARACHI: Another blackbuck dies in zoo

KARACHI: Animal exchange programme hits snags: Death of two red deer in Karachi zoo

KARACHI: No induction into zoo museum for three years despite many deaths

Over 80 animals died in capital zoo in 5 years

KARACHI: Animal care still a distant dream

KARACHI: Illegal wild animals trade flourishing

The state of our civilisation

In a September 15 article in DAWN’s Karachian column, Syed Ali Anwar summed it up rather nicely when he wrote about the animal deaths at Karachi Zoo:

The cause of death in most cases has not been or could not be ascertained but one thing is certain: negligence and apathy on the part of the zoo officials has played a major part in the deaths of the animals.

According to reports, three neelgais, three red deer, a Shetland pony (no pony rides), and over 40 partridges have died this year only, whereas last year almost 27 animals, including 12 spotted deer (poor dears), a puma, a black leopard, two Bengal tigresses, six fallow dear fawns, two blue bulls, a blackbuck, a red deer, a jackal, puma and a black leopard died of mysterious blood diseases.

Lack of adequate veterinary and quarantine facilities, unhygienic conditions and unnatural habitats in confinement have also contributed to the deaths of these poor creatures. Karachians, especially the affluent class, must come forward and help revive this 137-year-old recreational facility or soon the Karachi Zoo will be full of empty cages with the land mafia probably hovering like vultures to use this vast tract of land for commercial purposes.

Not only can we not manage the zoos we do have, we are also failing to check the mushrooming growth of dozens of private zoos all over the country. Unless zoo enclosures nationwide are drastically redesigned, and strict standards for captive animal care are chalked up and implemented, the animals will continue to suffer silently, as they have been for so long.

In an ideal world, however, there would be no zoos. According to the Born Free Foundation, an international wildlife charity based in the UK,

wild animals should not be kept in captivity. Born Free works to end captive animal suffering and phase out all zoos and animal circuses.

They also respond to cases of individual animal suffering and intervene with foreign governments to step in and take action. Their website FAQ states:

I am concerned about a wild animal in captivity and want to report it – who do I contact?

Through our Traveller’s Animal Alert campaign please send us an online report. Born Free’s Animal Alert campaign responds to the concerns of individuals, taking action when members of the public send in reports and photos about animal suffering. Animal Alert investigates neglect, fights cruelty and works with tour operators, travel companies, foreign governments and other organisations to take positive action and help improve animals’ lives. Together we investigate notorious facilities, ensure public concerns are addressed, and phase out exploitative activities. Travellers’ Animal AlertSend us your report.

Here’s something that we could all do: Write to the Born Free Foundation on behalf of the leopard in Landi-Korangi Zoo for a start. Go to the zoo, take a few pictures, make a video and share your concerns with them about the welfare of this poor animal. Who knows, they just might head on over to help. In any case, even if they don’t, all that international and national attention towards this one individual animal might shake up the authorities here from their deep slumber.

Please also take this opportunity to send appreciative letters to the editor of DAWN for creating awareness about the plight of animals languishing in our zoos. Send a clear message to zoo directors nationwide about how they need to shape up and seriously rethink the condition of the animals in their care. If they cannot even meet the most basic of animal welfare requirements, then why on earth must they insist on getting more and more animals to fill up the ghastly cages in zoos? Ask them to stop lamenting about the elephant/zebra/giraffe/bear/tiger that they haven’t been able to acquire, and start taking care of the animals they do have for a change.

As the editorial states:

Given our track record, Pakistan does not deserve zoos of any sort, public or private.

The animals cannot speak up for themselves. Your voice can make a difference.

DAWN takes letters at letters@dawn.com

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.

Please forward this alert to your friends, family and colleagues.

In recent years there has been a growing public debate around the world about the ethics of keeping elephants in zoos. Had Anarkali not been taken away from her natural habitat in the wild she would have lived in a large social group and roamed up to 20 miles a day foraging for food and water. Her complex physical, behaviourial and social needs were certainly not met at Karachi Zoo, where she spent six decades after being captured from Bangladesh in the 1950s.

Like so many other zoo animals, Anarkali’s life too was full of much suffering and neglect. Perhaps none of us could see the loneliness in her eyes, the perpetual wounds on her body from having to sleep on concrete, or the stress and discomfort she endured chained to the ground by three legs for 20 hours a day. If one of the worst punishments for a human is solitary confinement, it is a bit odd that doing the same to a wild animal can be called care. And while entertaining her presence may certainly have been for the recreation-starved residents of Karachi, it was no joyride for Anarkali.

Far from educating us about the importance of protecting the habitats and populations of wild elephants, the confinement of this gentle giant taught us that it’s acceptable to chain an animal just so we can see it up close at our convenience. According to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flaura and Fauna (CITES), the Asian elephant can only be imported for conservation and breeding purposes. Try as they might, Karachi Zoo would be hard pressed to meet any such requirement let alone meeting the minimum welfare standards for captive elephant management and care as set forth by the American Zoo Association. Less than 50,000 Asian elephants are said to be left in fragmented habitats in the wild. Keeping one chained up in Karachi for the entertainment of our children will neither serve to educate them nor contribute to protecting the species in their natural habitat.

Even London Zoo, which had displayed elephants for 170 years, decided in 2001 that its facilities were inadequate and shifted its three Asian elephants to the countryside setting of Whipsnade Wild Animal Park. Given the plight of elephants in captivity, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) in the UK published a report in 2002 that recommends the phasing out of elephant exhibits in zoos worldwide. The report also calls for an urgent improvement of current elephant management standards. The Karachi Zoo management, hell-bent as they are on getting another elephant, would be well advised to get hold of a copy of this report to reconsider their decision. At the very least they ought to start thinking about expanding and re-designing their current elephant exhibit space.

Let us not have another Anarkali.

Please write polite letters to the editors of leading newspapers in Pakistan about the ethics of keeping elephants in zoos. Urge the Karachi Zoo director to consider spending the money saved on maintaining an elephant exhibit on improving the housing conditions of the zoo’s many other animals.

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

Daily Times
letters@dailytimes.com.pk

DAWN
letters@dawn.com

The News
news.post@thenews.com.pk

Please forward this alert to your friends, family and colleagues.