Caretakers lacked professional capacity

Islamabad : Dr. Anees-ur-Rehman from Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) clearly stated that the caretakers of Islamabad Zoo lacked the professional capacity to shift a pair of lions to their safe sanctuary in Lahore.

Giving his comments in a webinar organised by Naya Daur he confirmed that the pair of tigers was not given proper treatment due to which both of them lost their lives.

“I also want to say that we lack capacity even to keep the animals in zoos. We are not trained and have no required resources to take care of animals in zoos. If we cannot take care of them we should not keep them in zoos,” he said.

He revealed that the caretakers of the Ayub Park Zoo provided a professional breeder to help shift a pair of lions from the Islamabad Zoo to a safe sanctuary in Lahore but still it became a disaster.

The medical report of a lion that met a terrible fate at the hands of unprofessional animal caretakers made startling revelations that led to his death while being transferred to the private lion farm in Lahore from the Islamabad Zoo. In all, two lions-one male and another female-died when they were being transferred to a safe sanctuary in Lahore from the Islamabad Zoo on July 30.

The report revealed that the lion was kept hungry; he had injuries; and he was not given required medicines.

A video clip also surfaced that showed that the caretakers ignited a fire in the lion’s cage to make him unconscious instead of using a tranquilizer for this purpose.

According to further details, the caretakers had to shift some 400 animals to safe sanctuaries in eight weeks in line with the directives of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

The administrative control of the Islamabad Zoo was given to the climate change ministry after the recent decision of the Islamabad High Court IHC.

The details further stated that the lion and lioness were shifted to the Islamabad Zoo four years ago from Lahore Safari Park under the exchange programme between the Punjab government and Capital Development Authority (CDA).

The IHC has already ordered contempt proceedings against Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam and Minister of State Zartaj Gul for the killing of animals at the hands of the caretakers.