Zubair Qureshi
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday directed the Islamabad wildlife management board to shift all the animals of Islamabad’s Marghazar Zoo to respective animals’ sanctuaries within sixty days.
The court gave these directions noting that “the zoo lacked facilities or resources to meet the behavioral, social or psychological needs of the animals kept in captivity under inappropriate and illegal conditions.”
Chief Justice of the IHC Athar Minallah gave these directions in a 67-page judgment after hearing a number of petitions regarding the miserable conditions in which the animals were being kept in the federal capital’s lone zoo.
“These conditions are tantamount to subjecting them to unnecessary pain and suffering and thus in violation of the Wildlife Ordinance of 1979,” the court has observed in its judgment.
A specific order regarding ‘Kaavan’ the lone, ailing elephant of Islamabad Zoo has been given directing the government to relocate the poor creature to an appropriate elephant sanctuary in or outside the country.
Chief Justice Minallah in his verdict highlighted the “unimaginable pain and suffering the animal has been subjected to for the past three decades.”
The court has directed the Chairman of the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board, to make arrangements within thirty days and in consultation with High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to relocate Kaavan to a suitable sanctuary.
Kaavan was gifted to the Islamabad Zoo by the Sri Lankan government back in 1985 and since then the animal is living miserable life. Kaavan’s mate, Saheli, died in 2012 and the animal has been chained ever since. Animals’ rights activists took to social media to vent when it emerged that the animal was kept chained.
The ‘Help Free Kaavan’ petition has garnered over 44,000 signatures thus far.
The court directed the Islamabad wildlife management board to take over the management of the Marghazar Zoo with immediate effect and take appropriate measures for the welfare and safety of the animals. The court directed the Chief Commissioner of Islamabad and the Metropolitan Corporation officials to assist the board in this regard.
