Worn-out animals heave a sigh of relief as govt relaxes pet shop restrictions

Shops to open for two hours a day so that animals, exhausted and sick after week-long starvation, can be fed

KARACHI: The Sindh government gave permission on Saturday to pet shop owners to open their shops between 12pm and 2pm during the lockdown period, so that they can ensure the wellbeing of the animals housed in the shops.

"This news has come as a huge relief," said Muhammad Sami Khan, the owner of a small shop in Empress Market. However, he added, since the enforcement of the lockdown, animals at pet shops had been in a "pathetic state."

Caged inside stuffy shops at Empress Market, they hadn't been fed for a number of days - not just because shops selling animal feed remained closed, but also because their owners were unable to visit them all this while.

"The police barred us from visiting the market," complained Khan. As a result, when he was eventually able to come to his shop, he found two of his cats had fallen seriously ill while several others were worn out and starving.

Khan, who lived nearby Old Sabzi Mandi, used to feed the animals at his shop thrice a day under normal circumstances. He has now shifted to a house near Empress Market in order to be able to visit his shop more regularly. "Otherwise my animals might die of starvation," he expressed the fear.

Another pet shop owner at the market, Irfan, went through a similar ordeal as Khan. Over two dozen birds at his shop starved to death, having been locked up without food and water for almost a week.

"I wasn't able to reach the shop in time [to save them]," lamented Irfan, adding that the police did not let him travel to his shop.

He also rued the financial loss he suffered due to the lockdown, saying, "We completely depend on this business [for sustenance]." He further pointed out that besides the financial loss, shop owners also suffered from mental anguish.

However, their ordeal saw an end with the Sindh government instructing district administrations to let pet shop owners open up their shops for two hours a day, so that they may feed animals and ensure their welfare.

Moreover, South deputy commissioner Irshad Ahmed Sodhar took the initiative to constitute a team of volunteers to help look after animals at pet shops during these trying times.

The team visited several pet shops in Karachi on Friday, providing animal feed to the shop owners and also taking away some ailing animals to look after them until their recovery. These also included two of Khan's sick cats, much to his relief, he said.

Speaking in this regard, one of the volunteers said that they were trying their best to aid the shop owners, provide medical assistance for the recovery of sick animals and deliver animal feed regularly.

However, she expressed worry that they had found many of the animals in sick conditions and in "immediate need of medical care and rehabilitation." She gave assurances that they would provide all necessary assistance to pet shop owners.

Sodhar too said that the animals at pet shops were being inspected by the team on a daily basis and that the issue needed "immediate attention." He further said that they had also offered to let the shop owners to sell off their animals to them in order to reduce their financial burden.

He told The Express Tribune that there were around 20 pet shops in Empress Market and another 11 in Defence Housing Authority, with animals going hungry at all of them since the onset of the lockdown.

"Realising how grave the situation was, I sought volunteers on social media to help look after these animals and received positive responses from over 100 people," he said. However, he opted to work with a few experienced people and organisations like theAyesha Chundrigar Foundation for the purpose.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 29^th, 2020.