SWD in a fix over finding ‘pet’ lions a safe home

The big cats were spotted roaming freely in residential area, creating panic on Tuesday

The fate of a man's 'pet' lions and tigers, witnessed roaming freely in a compound in Gulshan-e-Hadeed on Tuesday night, hangs in the balance while area residents demand the carnivores be immediately relocated and the Sindh Wildlife Department (SWD) puzzles over identifying a "safe" spot for them.

Owned by a businessman, Zohaib Ahmed, and kept inside a walled compound in the residential area, the felines were spotted roaming freely on Tuesday evening. The sight drove the residents of Gulshan-e-Hadeed and Gulshan-e-Muazzam into a frenzy.

As the news spread like wildfire throughout the locality, panic gripped the residents, who were quick to call police and pelted stones at the animals until law enforcers arrived, fearing the felines may attack them or enter their homes.

Abdul Sattar Abro, who resides near the compound where the big cats were spotted, told The Express Tribune that alongside four lions, two tigers were "caged inside the compound and two lions from among them managed escape their cages" on Tuesday, posing a threat to residents' safety. "We immediately informed the police," he added.

Upon reaching the site, the police cordoned off the area.

Soon after, SWD conservator Javed Ahmed Mahar also reached the spot.

"We have sent three trainers to the area and the situation is now under control," he said. "We had rushed to the spot as the presence of the animals had alarmed the people. Thank God, they were not out on the roads."

Later, some sources in the neighbourhood revealed that the big cats had been kept inside the compound for the past two years, but never moved outside its premises.

A SWD official also gave a similar version of the account, stating that the carnivores had remained inside the compound's boundary "but were not properly caged."

They were brought to Karachi in 2018 from Lahore, after Ahmed purchased them and got a permit from the SWD to keep them, the owner told The Express Tribune, producing the original but expired copy of the permit.

"I was unable to get it renewed as most [government] offices were closed due to the lockdown," he added as justification.

However, when asked whether he was aware of the animals' presence in the residential society prior to the incident, Abro expressed ignorance, and demanded that they be shifted elsewhere immediately.

But according to Ahmed, he is not the only one keeping big cats in the city. "There are over a dozen people who have lions and tigers [as pets]," he claimed.

Mahar, though, insisted that no one could keep carnivorous wild animals in residential areas.

He said Ahmed had informed his office during a hearing on Wednesday that the animals were purchased from Lahore around two years ago, and "we will shift them from their present location to a safe place" after a final decision is made on the matter on Thursday (today).

"We may fine him [Ahmed] or even confiscate the property," he added.

Interestingly, the SWD has no place for keeping such animals and ensuring they are properly cared for. Usually, all such animals are confiscated and handed over to the administration of the Karachi Zoo.

"Where will we keep them if we keep taking possession of such animals in the city?" an SWD official questioned, adding that the department had limited resources and this could land it in trouble in the coming days.

But then, on second thought, he proposed the zoo as an alternative habitat for the felines.

Nevertheless, whether the felines find themselves a safe habitat remains uncertain, with their fate expected to be decided today (Thursday).

Published in The Express Tribune, August 13^th, 2020.