SHC seeks report on physical and mental condition of animals at Karachi Zoo

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has directed a committee constituted by the Sindh chief minister to submit a detailed report with regard to details of animals kept at the Karachi Zoo, their physical and mental condition and the circumstances under which they have been kept.

In its written order, which was issued on Saturday, after Friday’s hearing on the petition with regard to shifting of a brown bear, Rano, from the Karachi Zoo to a wildlife sanctuary in Islamabad, a division bench of the high headed by Justice Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro observed that the issue pertained not only to one animal, but hundreds of animals that were being kept in captivity prima facie for entertainment of people.

The high court observed that it had decided to examine the whole concept of keeping the zoos, and the animals in cage in the context of the Section 47(b) of the Sindh Wildlife Protection, Preservation, Conservation and Management Act, 2020.

The SHC ordered that the committee already notified by the CM would visit the Karachi Zoo in the company of elephant trainer and animal rights activist Jude Allen Pereira, Sindh Institute of Animal Health’s Dr Nazeer Hussain Kalhoro, lawyer Mohammad Jibran Nasir and wildlife photographer Zafeer Ahmed Shaikh and prepare a detailed report including the number of animals in captivity, their physical and mental condition, and the circumstances under which they were being kept.

The high court observed that besides the fact which of the animals at the zoo were natives and which were exotic, if the animals were found being kept in improper conditions opposed to their natural habitat, the committee should propose steps for improving the conditions first and state if it was possible to relocate them to natural environment.

The SHC also directed the Karachi Metropolitian Corporation to provide details of the number of vets tending to the animals at the zoo.

The bench observed that it had been pointed out by the zoo deputy director that a ban had been imposed on recruitment of fresh vets and told the KMC’s counsel to provide a copy of such a notification so that its vires could be examined keeping in view the number of animals at the Karachi Zoo.

The SHC observed that since the issue was encompassing and important, and federal institutions would also be involved in it, therefore a notice be issued to the deputy attorney general for establishing liaison with the ministry of climate change and environmental coordination and submit a report on the condition of animals in the zoo.

Regarding the shifting of brown bear, the high court observed that the KMC had filed a report stating that the government was in the process of relocating the bear to Islamabad in the custody of the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board.

The SHC observed that it had been informed that in order to overcome the issues in the transfer, a committee had been notified by the CM to make sure that the transfer took place smoothly and within a reasonable time.

The high court observed that a wildlife department conservator had submitted that initially a cage would be placed in the enclosure of the bear with food in it and the bear would be tended to use it for taking food, etc., and once the bear got used to it, she would be enclosed in it and transported to Islamabad.

The SHC observed that relevant officials had said that the transportation of the bear could be delayed for two weeks for certain issues. It observed that it was expected that the court order would be complied with during the two weeks and the bear would be relocated to Islamabad.

It is pertinent to mention that the SHC had ordered shifting of Rano from the zoo to a bear sanctuary managed by the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board as the brown bear was without a companion. The other bear at the zoo died way back in 2020.

The petitioner’s counsel Jibran Nasir said an expert committee report had unanimously found the brown bear to be under stress, and recommended her immediate relocation to a sanctuary until her DNA sequencing was conducted to identify her exact species.

Nasir said the expert committee, which comprised qualified experts in wildlife, veterinary care and ecology, had made specific and time-sensitive recommendations, including Rano’s immediate relocation to a sanctuary, and further steps contingent upon the DNA confirmation of her sub-species.