Cruelty to animals

Letter December 01, 2016
It is our civil and moral duty to condemn all acts of malice against man

FAISALABAD: While I feel exasperated at Pakistan’s more pressing issues, it is the smaller things that simply break my heart. While going by a street in Faisalabad, I saw a vegetable cart being pulled by a donkey whose back was covered with lacerations and scars. The man supervising the animal was armed with a rather thick stick.

The cruelty problem is not just in the streets. Violations of animal rights are ubiquitous in zoos, markets and the homes of people who are keen to acquire pets but lack the sense of responsibility to actually care for these creatures.

All living beings deserve to be treated with some veneration and compassion and our efforts to ensure that must be resolute and unyielding. Our zoos must have proper accommodation for animals and there should be public volunteers that have the authority to check if people with pets take good care of them. Most importantly, the government must ban illegal pet trafficking and impose a moratorium on using animals, such as donkeys, as beasts of burden. It’s the 21st century and we have vehicles for that now. It is our civil and moral duty to condemn all acts of malice against man and all living things alike.

Ali Nadeem Bhatti

Published in The Express Tribune, December 1st, 2016.

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