Behind bars

The best zoos in the world have established breeding programmes to multiply the number of endangered species left alive on our badly mutilated planet. They also emphasise that the focus in zoos is on providing knowledge about wildlife, the environment and related factors to all visitors including schoolchildren. Sadly this principle has completely evaded us. An inquiry committee headed by the interior secretary set up to look into the death of multiple animals at the Peshawar Zoo since it was opened to the public in February this year has released some alarming findings. The zoo appears to have been opened in haste. This possible attempt to win popular appeal has hit wildlife at the zoo hard. Species including black deer, three leopard cubs, a hog deer and multiple birds have perished in the harsh conditions at the zoo, which is manned by a staff of only 35 (the stated staff requirement is 250 persons). Some species including markhor were shifted to the cooler climate of Abbottabad following the spate of deaths.

The Peshawar Zoo may be particularly badly run. But similar conditions prevail at other zoos around the country. The Marghazar Zoo in Islamabad has lost multiple animals including elephant Saheli in 2012. The same is true of the Lahore Zoo where deaths are reported regularly, including that of Suzi the zoo’s only elephant in 2017. Giraffes have died after swallowing plastic bags and conditions at the Karachi Zoo or other wildlife centres are not any better. We continue to regard zoos as spaces where animals are put on display, regardless of the torment they suffer. Species accustomed to life in the mountains are made to survive in small concrete cages and many animals are held on their own rather than with a companion or in any environment that resembles their natural homes. While the committee has blamed the zoo administration in Peshawar for the deaths, the real culprit is the failure to change our thinking about zoos. The species with which we share our space are not intended merely to entertain us or to be tortured, as happens at many zoos where they are poked and prodded. We need to turn our zoos, if we have the budget for this, into centres of learning where animals are protected. If this is not possible, it may be better to close them down altogether.