World Animal Day: ‘Duty exemption on captive birds proposed’

Suzi the elephant gets fruit gifts from PU students.

LAHORE:

The Livestock Department will soon make a formal proposal for the lifting of import duty on captive birds including ostriches, Livestock Additional Secretary Khalid Awais Ranjha said on Tuesday.

Lifting the import duty would make it easier for Pakistani zoos, as well as individuals, to get exotic birds. Speaking at the Bird Show 2011 at the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS), Ranjha said that people who loved birds were “very close to nature”. Cage Bird Society president Amer Sharif said that the bird show was meant to promote captive breeding. He said that the government had already imposed extra taxes and duties on captive birds, which was not fair because captive birds were not wildlife. One hundred and fifty bird pairs participated in the show, including cockatiels, love birds and budgerigars. UVAS Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Nawaz said that the bird show was held to celebrate World Animal Day. He said the show was meant to raise awareness about biodiversity issues and the extinction challenges faced by many animals.

PU event

Separately, the Punjab University’s Zoology Department organised a special ceremony at Lahore Zoo in connection with World Animal Day attended by faculty and students. They cut a cake and presented fruits to Suzi, the zoo’s elephant.

Zoology Department Prof Dr Muhammad Akhtar was the chief guest at the ceremony, while Lahore Zoo Director Shafqat Ali, Deputy Director Zahid Iqbal Bhatti, PU Undergraduate Studies Director Prof Amir Ijaz, Prof Dr Muhammad Naeem Khan and Prof Dr Shahid also attended.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 5^th, 2011.