SHC constitutes committee for evaluation of Karachi zoo

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Saturday constituted a committee comprising the chief wildlife conservator, veterinary doctors and a private zoo architect to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the Karachi Zoo and submit proposals to ensure proper management and care of animals being kept at the zoo.

The direction came on a petition of Mashal Khan and others seeking a direction for the zoo administration to keep a baby brown bear, named Ranoo, in an environment similar to its natural habitat.

The petitioners submitted that the baby bear required special attention for its survival. They submitted that Ranoo belonged to a breed called Syrian brown bear and claimed that it had been forcibly separated from its parents which was cruelty as the baby bear was still in its early age and could not survive without parents.

They said that Syrian brown bears could only survive in a cold atmosphere as its habitat was mountainous forests, grassland and meadows and the lack of such atmosphere had made the brown bear extinct from countries like Syria and its neighbouring region.

The petitioners’ counsel, Mohsin Shahwani, submitted that the KMC was under statutory duty in terms of the Sindh Local Government Act 2013 to maintain the zoological garden and provide natural habitat to its animals.

He submitted that such action of the zoo management amounted to cruelty in terms of the Section 3 of the Prevention of the Cruelty of Animals Act 1890. He submitted that urgent attention was required to save the life of the precious baby bear.

The high court was requested to direct the zoological garden administration to immediately transfer the baby bear to Skardu where it could be reunited with her family in a natural habitat and ensure proper maintenance of hygiene, living conditions and health care to all other animals kept at the zoo.

The petitioners also sought the constitution of a committee comprising animal welfare community and zoo experts holding appropriate qualifications to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the zoo and submit recommendations in accordance with the applicable international zoo standards to ensure proper management and care of the animals.

The KMC deputy director zoo filed comments on the petition and denied the petitioners’ claim. He submitted that the bear in question belonged to the family Ursidae and it was a property of a private breeding farm and research centre. He added that the animal had been received through an exchange of animal programme in March 2017.

He submitted that at that time, the bear was adult contrary to the claim of the petitioners. The bear was living in the zoo since March 15, 2017 comfortably and its weight was approximately 100 to 110 kilogrammes.

He said that the concern over forced separation from the parents was not valid as there was nothing wrong with the bear’s health which showed that it had got fully acclimatised with the weather of Karachi. He also denied the allegation of cruelty, submitting that the zoo management provided all the facilities to the animals.

The zoo department stated that since the April 2017 rehabilitation, the improvement of the zoological garden was under way through a mega project under which all the cages, pans and enclosures would be completely revamped as per the natural habitat required for the kept species and flora would be provided to meet the natural habitat. It was submitted that the zoo had technical staff, including veterinarians, zoologists, horticulturists, engineers and others, who were performing their duties with utmost dedication.

A division bench of the SHC headed by Justice Mohammad Shafi expressed dissatisfaction at the KMC zoo department’s report. The high court directed the zoo administration to submit details of budget being spent on the zoo, including the diet of its animals.

The high court also constituted a committee comprising the chief wildlife conservator, veterinary doctors, a private zoo planner and animal rights activist to conduct the evaluation of the Karachi Zoo with regard to natural habitat of the animals and their health conditions, and submit proposals to ensure proper management and care of the animals within two weeks. The SHC directed the KMC and other officials concerned to take prompt and immediate action to provide an environment close to natural habitat to the bear within no time.