Foreign vets to assess Kaavan’s health before relocation to Cambodia

Islamabad : The Pakistani diplomatic mission in Bangkok has issued visas to three foreign veterinary experts to visit Islamabad for assessing the health of the Islamabad Margazar Zoo's sole male elephant, Kaavan, for relocation to a wildlife sanctuary in Cambodia.

Srisaard Channarong and Pratumdee Wichian of Thailand and Thomson Darrick Lome of Canada are likely to reach the federal capital by the end of the current month, spokesman for the climate change ministry Muhammad Saleem told reporters.

According to him, the information was shared by the Foreign Office with the climate change ministry for the Islamabad High Court, which had ordered in May the shifting of the elephant from the Islamabad Zoo to a sanctuary, where he can roam free.

The orders came following protests by animal rights campaigners, who outrage and petitioned for the freedom of the elephant over ill-treatment in the zoo.

"The 35-year-old male elephant kept in the zoo for decades will move to a sanctuary in Cambodia," the spokesman said.

He said the climate change ministry had approached the Foreign Office with a request to ask the Pakistani mission in Bangkok for the issuance of visas to veterinarians for the medical examination of the elephant before its retirement and relocation to the 25,000-acre wildlife sanctuary in Cambodia.