Wildlife, animals rights in Pakistan

Senior Minister Punjab, Marriyum Aurangzeb has recently told the media that the government of the Punjab would roll out a province-wide network of rehabilitation centers to treat and cure ailing wildlife being poached and mutilated for entertainment purposes. While diverse measures would be taken to enhance public education and awareness on biodiversity with the technical assistance of Four Paws. During a visit to the Margallah Wildlife Rescue Centre, the Minister examined the newly rehabilitated black bears which were rescued by the Punjab Wildlife Department from wildlife traffickers/ poachers on the special directives of the Chief Minister of Punjab.

Wild life is an important part of our planet’s ecosystem which plays a vital role in stabilizing the environment and maintaining biodiversity and ecological balance in the universe. Wildlife also provides important items to human beings such as food, clothes, comforts, earning, and multiple other economic benefits and pleasures. Meanwhile, Wildlife provides countless opportunities for scientific study, which can lead to discoveries in medicine, technology, and conservation. It contributes to natural processes like pollination, seed dispersal, and the decomposition of organic matter, which are essential for human survival and preservation of the global ecosystem.

Unfortunately, our nation has a poor record in respect of wildlife preservation, safety and protection of animals rights in our country. The wildlife is in miserable and unhealthy conditions in the zoo as well as in the wildlife parks and forests. Generally animals are treated as inferior, and their life is considered to be less important for the society and the country as well. Animals are used for travel, transport of goods, hunting and gaming purposes and mostly face malnutrition and poor treatment .Ironically, the situations had been worse in the wildlife parks and state run zoos where untrained staff treats the animals mercilessly without any assistance/guidance from trained veterinarian or animal pathologist to help reclaim captive animals from agony and serious mental trauma causing their deaths.

It has been a national tragedy throughout the past and several precious animals including Karachi Zoo elephant Kaavan and Noor Jehan had died or were living with poor health conditions and a miserable environment. The Punjab government has announced the establishment of animal rehabilitation centers in the province which is a delayed but sane idea and needs to be implemented in the whole country. In addition, there should be a nationwide awareness campaign regarding the safety and rights of animals, so the wildlife and animals’ rights could be ensured in the country.