KARACHI: The Karachi zoo will be cleaned and renovated after this Ashura, announced Shaukat Zaman, a health director, on Saturday. He had gone to inspect the zoo, along with the zoo’s director, Mazhar Khan, on the directives of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation Administrator Muhammad Hussain Syed.

Meeting called by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation
Karachi Zoo Management
District Commissioner House, Karachi
Thursday, December 1, 2011

Participants:

KMC Administrator Muhammad Hussain Syed (MHS)

Dr. Kazim Hussain
Veterinarian and Acting Director, Karachi Zoo

Uzma Khan (UK)
Member, Management Committee, Lahore Zoo
Biodiversity Director, World Wildlife Fund (WWF-Pakistan)

Rab Nawaz (RN)
Director, Indus Ecoregion Programme, World Wildlife Fund (WWF-Pakistan)

Umeed Khalid
Conservator Wildlife, National Council for Conservation of Wildlife (NCCW)

Mahera Omar (MO)
Maheen Zia (MZ)
Co-Founders, Pakistan Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)

Madiha Javed (MJ)
Express Television

Minutes of the Meeting:

A management committee for the Karachi Zoo will be set up to oversee its policy matters and finances. The zoo should be an independent body with its own Board of Directors. Currently, it is under the management of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, and so does not have the authority in the running of its own affairs. The zoo also needs a full-time director as it is the veterinarian who is filling in as director temporarily. A consultant can be hired to make plans for upgrading the facilities at the zoo. (MHS)

It is important to understand why zoos exist in the first place. Their role is education, and not conservation. WWF can help Karachi Zoo set up an education program which would include developing educational materials and providing training for its staff. Generally, the Karachi Zoo is considered to be more of a picnic spot, with no emphasis on creating awareness about the importance of conserving wildlife in their own habitats. WWF would be happy to hire an education officer for the zoo. The Lahore Zoo and Safari have a master plan. There is a need to develop such a vision for the Karachi Zoo as well. (UK)

We should focus on local species and try to create more awareness about their conservation, rather than acquiring more and more foreign species. In addition, any animal that is acquired must be from one zoo to another, and not from an animal dealer. (RN)

Last year the zoo earned an income of Rupees 2 crore and 30 lakhs. But since the funds are not under the zoo’s control, it’s requirements are not able to be fulfilled. (KH)

Lahore Zoo has its own bank account. There is transparency in their management since the committee has to approve any expenditure before the funds are utilized. Once such a system is in place in Karachi as well, then one can move forward with better zoo management. The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) provides guidelines and support to zoos about “animal care and welfare, conservation of biodiversity, environmental education and global sustainability”. Members of the WAZA network are obliged to comply with their code of ethics, and such an organisation is a great resource for the Karachi Zoo. (UK)

The National Council for Conservation of Wildlife (NCCW) is responsible for issuing No Objection Certificates before any private party trade in wildlife. Certain international conventions, such as CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, aims to ensure that “international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.” Pakistan is a signatory to this convention, and therefore must not illegally acquire animals from the wild for any of its zoos. (Umeed Khalid)

In an ideal world, there would be no zoos. Wild animals belong in the wild and not meant to lead a life in captivity. Captive animals, especially those kept in inhumane conditions, send a wrong message to zoo visitors. This message is enforced most strongly amongst young children, who then grow up to believe its okay to cage wild animals. A prime example is the barren, tiled enclosures of the indigenous fishing cats that are kept in solitary confinement. Their enclosures bear no resemblance to their natural wetland habitat. The focus of being able to see wild animals up close should be on the importance of protecting their original habitats, which are fast depleting in Pakistan. Capturing wild animals from their natural habitats, and separating the young from their mothers, as in the case of the 4 baby elephants, is another practice which the Karachi Zoo must not condone. (MZ)

It is important to use this opportunity to introduce better zoo management practices and upgrade the existing facilities, so that the right kind of message be sent out to our future generations. At the same time, it is also important to remember our city animals and revive the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), so that the system of animal inspectors is once again initiated and a humane stray dog management strategy is implemented. (MO)

Not every initiative requires funds. Social media, such as facebook, can be used to engage the public and create awareness about protecting wild animals and their habitats. Learning from the successful example of the Mohatta Palace Museum, perhaps the Karachi Zoo could also be managed as a public-private sector partnership. (MJ)

It was jointly decided that a follow up meeting will be held soon.

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.

A recent editorial on the topic of zoos and conservation in Dawn of November 17 is an admirable step toward bringing the animal issue to the lime light, since without such publications the issue can never reach public eyes and be a subject of debate. However, a comment in the editorial that zoos play an important role in the conservation of endangered species is a misleading one. The truth is that the primary motives of zoos are cheap entertainment at the cost of animal exploitation.

Zoos often operate under the guise of conservation, and they notoriously participate in the breeding of exotic animals. Zoos know that nothing brings paying customers through their gates faster than newborn animals. But such breeding programs inevitably result in a surplus of less-crowd-pleasing adult animals. So zoos routinely trade, lend, sell, barter and warehouse adult animals they no longer want. Moreover, many of the species being bred aren’t even endangered or threatened. And the captive-bred species that do face extinction in the wild — including elephants, polar bears, gorillas, tigers, chimpanzees and pandas — will never be released back into their natural environments to bolster dwindling populations because they are denied learned survival skill and in some cases they pickup diseases in captivity that could threaten wild populations. Neither the practice of keeping animals in cages has a positive effect on species preservation.

Zoos do nothing to foster respect for animals in the wild. They are still hunted, poached, encroached upon, culled and captured for display.

Instead of providing lifetime care, zoos shuffle their surplus animals around like checkers on a board — even though many species, including elephants and primates, form deep and lasting bonds that are critical to the animals’ long-term health and happiness. Removing them from established social groups and forcing them to adjust repeatedly to new routines, different caretakers and unfamiliar cage-mates is disruptive and traumatic.

Breeding animals and keeping them in cramped cages causes untold suffering. Last year at the Lahore Zoo, Romeo, a male chimpanzee at the Lahore Zoo attacked his mate, Juliet, and their baby, Pinky. Pinky was born at the zoo while her parents were wild-caught. The zoo’s director admitted that Romeo may have been frightened by the crowd and that the chimp’s cage was “very small.”

A 2006 investigation into the Lahore Zoo found that 13 animals—including some endangered species–had died in one year. The zoo has no emergency treatment or X-ray facilities available. Director Yousaf Pal stated,

life and death are in the hands of the Almighty.

After a devastating earthquake hit Pakistan in December 2005, residents were allowed to free animals from their cages at the Jalalabad Zoo and move into the empty cages. The fate of those animals remains unknown.

Syed Rizvi can be contacted at ESAR01@aol.com

Resources to the zoo debate:

Zoos: Why a Revolution is Necessary to Justify Them
What’s wrong with zoos?
The reality of zoos
Are zoos a necessary evil?
The debate over zoos

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.

Full marks to Faiza Ilyas and to the Metropolitan section of Dawn for printing as its lead story on Dec 15 the most depressing and sad tale of the leopard transferred earlier this month from the Safari Park, where for two years she was kept in a turkey cage, to the Korangi-Landhi zoo where she is confined in a somewhat larger cage but subjected to intense maltreatment by visitors who torment her with sticks and stones in an effort to wake her up from her comatose condition. She does nothing but lie in a corner of her cage on a filthy cemented floor.

The aim of this is clear and laudable. Ms Ilyas is pleading for someone or some organisation to come to the rescue of the leopard and save it from its inhumane, uncaring and ignorant jailers.

More here.