Wild pets endanger safety of residents

Authorities’ failure to take action has exacerbated the issue

LAHORE:

Where in most countries the enthusiasm of animal lovers to observe the glory of wildlife would draw a majority to a zoo or reserve, in the city of gardens they need only step out on the streets.

In recent times, the novel trend of keeping wildlife animals as pets at home has grown tremendously and has simultaneously raised valid concerns among the civil society and state authorities alike, who cite the killer instincts of the carnivores as a significant source of potential danger to the citizenry.

“Keeping dangerous wild animals at home, means risking not only your own life but also of the innocent people nearby,” said an official from Wildlife Punjab.

According to sources, various influential families in the provincial capital have kept wild animals like lions, leopards, and even pythons as pets at home, creating a troublesome situation for the neighbours, who fear stepping outside the house.

One such case was found in the Tajpura area of Lahore, where a citizen had kept multiple lions on his rooftop, and would regularly take them out for morning and evening strolls in the nearby market, petrifying the passersby.

“One does not usually expect to run into a lion when they leave their house to buy groceries,” shared a distressed neighbour. He further added, “after all it is a marketplace, not a zoo.”

Even when the neighbours did file a complaint to the local police, the lions continued to lurk around, eventually forcing the families to adapt to the persistent risk.

While some lion keepers limit their pet’s detours to the nearest market, others flauntingly take their furry fellows for a day out in their cars.

As a local from Lahore confirmed, “while waiting in my car at the traffic light, I was terrified to spot a lion’s head sticking out from the window of a car nearby.”

While such instances trigger considerable backlash from residents who fear for their safety, domesticated wild pets also raise a red flag for animal rights activists, who argue that removing wild animals from their natural habitat and modifying their bodies to customise them for domestic life with humans, is a rather cruel practice to begin with and can also instigate uncontrollable aggression in the pet.

According to Anneza Khan Omer Zai, an animal rights activist, wild animals are not fit for household environments and the ones that are kept at home usually have their teeth and claws removed by the owners to control the lethality of a future attack, “which causes intense physical pain to the animal, who can become agitated and even vicious, as a result.”

“Many owners are also not aware that wildlife animals acquire various neurological diseases over time, which can drastically alter their behaviour, causing them to react aggressively at the slightest trigger,” asserted Aneeza.

Syeda Izzat Fatima, an animal rights lawyer, believes the solution lies in implementing legislation like the Big Cats Safety Act, which exists in the United States. “No one should be permitted to keep wild animals as pets in the house nor should anyone and everyone be allowed a licence to keep wild animals.”

Acknowledging the condemnation posed by the residents and civil society, officials from Wildlife Punjab conceded to the severity of the matter, revealing that while containing wild animals in breeding centres was allowed, keeping them as pets at home was illegal.

“While no formal data exists at the provincial level to determine the exact number of privately owned wild pets, we will be working towards curbing the problem and will confiscate any wild pets which are not officially registered,” assured Junaid Alam, Deputy Director of Punjab Wildlife.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 31^st, 2023.