It’s a jungle out there

That a lion was seen strolling on the busiest artery of Pakistan’s biggest metropolis on Tuesday (August 29) is one of those stranger-than-fiction news stories that deserve a place in the journalism curriculum in the country. The wild animal apparently jumped off the vehicle that was reportedly taking it to a vet and took a casual stroll along the streets of Karachi's Shahrae Faisal before being captured presumably by its caretakers. Many Karachi residents, proudly showing off their unique characteristic of laughing in the face of danger, came out on the streets to see the lion and take photos -- not realizing that one wrong move could have led to an unforgettable tragedy. The poor lion put up with the human circus around it with remarkable restraint.

According to wildlife experts, getting a licence to keep a lion as a pet is surprisingly easy in Pakistan (and does not require huge amounts of money). This has allowed people who have no experience in handling wild animals to keep a majestic beast like a lion as their pet. The Tuesday incident shows the lack of care shown by the lion’s handlers while transporting it to a vet (although wildlife experts claim that the lion looked healthy). Lost in all this, but rightly pointed out during Geo's live coverage of the event, is the fact that the lion may have been the story but the perpetrators in this were those who have thought it okay to keep a lion as a 'pet'. That we treat animals in this country in possibly the most horrific manner is a given. But that we end up doing this even to wildlife which has no business in cities or as domestic entertainment is appalling on a whole other level.

The incident has raised some important questions: what could have happened had the lion shown signs of aggression? Why is a lion being kept as a pet? And why haven’t the relevant authorities taken any meaningful step to put an end to this? What happens when a lion enters old age, and becomes dependent on its caretakers? Lions have been used as an election symbol by supporters of the PML-N and as props by wealthy social media stars. In the early 2010s, a lion reportedly died due to dehydration after he was paraded city after city during the election season. These incidents highlight a sad truth: animals in our country are rarely shown the respect they deserve. It is not too late for the authorities. They can launch conservation programmes (similar to the famous case of the Christian the lion, a cub who was raised by two men in London and was later safely shifted to Africa after he got big and could not adjust in a tiny apartment he once called home). Wildlife (whether kept at public zoos, private zoos, or residential buildings) should be released in the wild. We cannot undo the mistakes we made earlier, but we can ensure that lions who are in captivity have a second chance to live in an environment meant for them.