Lahore Zoo invites citizens to ‘adopt’ a friend

Under the policy, individuals will be able to adopt birds and animals for a specific period

LAHORE: Lahore Zoo has devised a new policy, under which animal lovers will be able to temporarily ‘adopt’ their favourite birds and animals. The new policy will be officially announced later this month.

Under the policy, citizens will have to pay for the medication and the food of the animals they choose to adopt. Individuals will be able to adopt birds and animals for three months, six months or a year. Once a citizen has adopted the animal, they will be able to visit the creature at any time during the zoo’s timings without having to pay for a ticket. They will also be allowed to be present when caretakers are feeding the animal. Lahore Zoo will provide pamphlets and brochures related to the animal’s habits and dietary needs.

Punjab’s largest and oldest zoo houses more than 1,200 different species of birds and animals which have been divided into different categories for the adoption process. Any citizen or institution can adopt more than one bird or animal.



The Lahore Zoo administration said the purpose of the adoption scheme is to promote compassion for animals among citizens, to create awareness about their lifestyle and eating habits and to earn revenue in order to give the animals at the zoo the proper care that they need. Annually, Lahore Zoo spends more than Rs40 million on food for the animals alone.

Lahore Zoo Education Officer Kiran Saleem stated that many organisations had previously adopted several animals and subsequently named the creatures. A pair of white Bengal tigers was named Saim and Mohini while a pair of lions was called Raja and Rani. “Now, brown bears, baboons, hog deers are some of the animals that can be adopted under the new scheme,” she said.

Individuals who wish to adopt the animals can do so by registering themselves at the Lahore Zoo’s website which will be launched soon. Meanwhile, information about the types of birds and animals housed at Lahore Zoo can be obtained with the help of the facility’s mobile application.