If our zoos do not have the budget to take care of the animals, perhaps they should close the zoos
LAHORE: Almost a month ago, a social media post turned into a campaign to rescue the bears at Jallo Park in Lahore. A non-profit organisation that works to rescue animals also made a visit and pressured the zoo authorities and government officials to take concrete measures for the welfare of the bears. As the original social media post had showed, a pair of black bears were kept in a small and dingy concrete enclosure. They had no shade, and no food or water. They were left like this in the blistering Lahore heat as heatwaves struck the city. After much hue and cry the park finally started some construction to shelter the bears. Reports show the other animals at the zoo are also suffering from a similar fate.
All this leads us to a serious of question: Why do zoo authorities or government officials only take action when people raise their voices and badmouth them repeatedly? Why do these people not take their jobs seriously and take pre-emptive measures? Do they not see the animals suffering in the heat and being malnourished? The high death rates in Pakistan’s zoos do not make any difference to those in-charge. Unfortunately, these people have grown heartless and are worse than animals as they let these innocent souls suffer. We have lost our humanity, and unless we are called out on the media for our shameless acts, we do not care enough to do our jobs properly — even if that means lives are lost in the process. If our zoos do not have the budget to take care of the animals, perhaps they should close the zoos and send the animals to sanctuaries in their native countries.
Ayesha Z Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, July 15th, 2019.
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