(urban) jungle Welcome to the
Malika Abbas\White Star
ISSUE
The Herald, October 2011
By Javaria Khan
100
Welcome to the (urban) jungle
The Karachi Zoo has a severe lack of resources and administrative problems
T
he mysterious death of four lion cubs at the Karachi Zoological Garden (also known as the Karachi Zoo) in the second week of August raised serious questions about the ability of zoo managers to ensure that animals are kept in a safe and comfortable environment. While an investigation report about the incident is pending, visitors to the zoo, animal rights activists, experts and zoo officials acknowledge that reforms are urgently required when it comes to administrative issues. Many experts claim that the laws governing zoos in Sindh need to change. “Laws for zoos are very basic. They instruct visitors not to pester or feed animals, for example,” explains Uzma Khan, the director for biodiversity at the World Wildlife Fund-Pakistan. Saeed Baloch, conservator with the Sindh Wildlife Department, agrees with Khan. “I don’t believe specific laws exist in Pakistan to administer zoos.” In the absence of these laws, it will be next to impossible to
establish responsibility for the death of the cubs, let alone punish those found guilty. “Pakistan needs legislation and animal welfare standards similar to India’s, where specific zoo laws as well as cage specifications for different animals and their diet plans exist,” says Khan. “[India also has] a Zoo Licensing Authority and a Central Zoo Authority [to regulate the zoos across the country].” A glaring problem in the absence of these laws is that zoos in Pakistan exist principally to entertain their visitors. The zoos neither receive official attention nor are they able to generate the funds that can ensure smooth functioning. Established in 1878, the Karachi Zoo is the second oldest zoological garden in Pakistan, but it does not have an effective governing mechanism to run its administrative and financial affairs. Working under the city district government, the management is “given a limited annual budget,” says Kazim Hussain, the director of Karachi Zoo.
Arif Ali/White Star
constitution which also outlines basic laws for its committee. Khan suggests the formation of a similar committee for the Karachi Zoo, comprising of members of all strata of society, including lawyers, architects and journalists, headed by a government officer as a chairperson. More than 140 years old, the Lahore Zoo possesses and houses its animals in cages that were constructed at the time the Zoo was established. Similarly, cages at the Karachi Zoo are now too small for the animals they hold and, those located close to the periphery walls of the zoo, receive a significant amount of noise and traffic pollution from the surrounding Garden area. "Previously, the walls around the zoo were around three to four feet tall and the animals could be viewed in their cages very easily from the main road," says Hussain. "Animals whose cages were placed on the periphery found it hard to breed as the noise and traffic pollution were a stark contrast to their natural, habitual environment." Accordingly, the zoo's walls were heightened to 12 feet. Whether the management will continue raising the walls in the face of ever-increasing noise and environmental pollution in the area is highly improbable. ■ (Additional reporting by Nadia Rehman in Lahore)
The Herald, October 2011
This, according to him, places severe limitations on his ability to cater to the needs of the animals. “If there is an emergency expenditure we need to incur, we are unable to procure the funds immediately, because approval is required from the city authorities which can take up to two months,” he says. This process severely hampers the animals’ mating cycle, Hussain adds. Zoo authorities do not have the money to purchase certain animals (a male or female pair) when they are available in the market. Often, by the time the finances are procured, the animal is no longer available for sale, Hussain says. “The prices of animals also continuously increase due to a devaluing Pakistani currency,” he adds. Even when the issue is not the purchase of animals but rather the expansion of facilities for existing animals, funds available are far from adequate. “The elephant house has to be enlarged, with a bathing space and playing area for the elephants,” Hussain tells the Herald, but this is not possible “because we are provided with inadequate funding.” Moreover, the Karachi Zoo has insufficient staff. A single veterinarian is in charge of its 450 birds, 225 mammals and 175 reptiles as the provincial government has frozen recruitment for the past five years. Zookeepers have self-trained over the years, and often, unable to address serious medical issues. This may explain why the authorities were unable to handle the birth and subsequent death of four cubs at the zoo. Without adequate knowledge about the history of the expectant lioness, the zoo staff continued moving her around when she was at an advanced stage of pregnancy thereby leading to possible medical complications. Having acquired the lioness from the wildlife authorities only recently, the Karachi Zoo was unaware about its disposition, Khan says. In addition, meagre funding allotted to the zoo has led to a decline in the number of animals it houses and the visitors it attracts. Last month, a visitor remarked to the Herald in disbelief that the Karachi Zoo was not “as good as” the one in the much smaller city of Bahawalpur. “There are practically no animals here,” she said. This highlights another problem: The management cannot charge visitors more than a token fee of 10 rupees. “We can’t increase the fee because of the small number of animals we have here,” admits Hussain. At the Lahore Zoo on the other hand, such funding problems have been circumvented after the establishment of a committee that approves financial requirements. Established in 1872, this zoo is one of the oldest in the world, and the largest in South Asia. Drawing crowds of more than three million visitors since 2010, the Zoo is governed by a
101
ISSUE
The Herald, October 2011
By Javaria Khan
100
Welcome to the (urban) jungle
The Karachi Zoo has a severe lack of resources and administrative problems
T
he mysterious death of four lion cubs at the Karachi Zoological Garden (also known as the Karachi Zoo) in the second week of August raised serious questions about the ability of zoo managers to ensure that animals are kept in a safe and comfortable environment. While an investigation report about the incident is pending, visitors to the zoo, animal rights activists, experts and zoo officials acknowledge that reforms are urgently required when it comes to administrative issues. Many experts claim that the laws governing zoos in Sindh need to change. “Laws for zoos are very basic. They instruct visitors not to pester or feed animals, for example,” explains Uzma Khan, the director for biodiversity at the World Wildlife Fund-Pakistan. Saeed Baloch, conservator with the Sindh Wildlife Department, agrees with Khan. “I don’t believe specific laws exist in Pakistan to administer zoos.” In the absence of these laws, it will be next to impossible to
establish responsibility for the death of the cubs, let alone punish those found guilty. “Pakistan needs legislation and animal welfare standards similar to India’s, where specific zoo laws as well as cage specifications for different animals and their diet plans exist,” says Khan. “[India also has] a Zoo Licensing Authority and a Central Zoo Authority [to regulate the zoos across the country].” A glaring problem in the absence of these laws is that zoos in Pakistan exist principally to entertain their visitors. The zoos neither receive official attention nor are they able to generate the funds that can ensure smooth functioning. Established in 1878, the Karachi Zoo is the second oldest zoological garden in Pakistan, but it does not have an effective governing mechanism to run its administrative and financial affairs. Working under the city district government, the management is “given a limited annual budget,” says Kazim Hussain, the director of Karachi Zoo.
Arif Ali/White Star
constitution which also outlines basic laws for its committee. Khan suggests the formation of a similar committee for the Karachi Zoo, comprising of members of all strata of society, including lawyers, architects and journalists, headed by a government officer as a chairperson. More than 140 years old, the Lahore Zoo possesses and houses its animals in cages that were constructed at the time the Zoo was established. Similarly, cages at the Karachi Zoo are now too small for the animals they hold and, those located close to the periphery walls of the zoo, receive a significant amount of noise and traffic pollution from the surrounding Garden area. "Previously, the walls around the zoo were around three to four feet tall and the animals could be viewed in their cages very easily from the main road," says Hussain. "Animals whose cages were placed on the periphery found it hard to breed as the noise and traffic pollution were a stark contrast to their natural, habitual environment." Accordingly, the zoo's walls were heightened to 12 feet. Whether the management will continue raising the walls in the face of ever-increasing noise and environmental pollution in the area is highly improbable. ■ (Additional reporting by Nadia Rehman in Lahore)
The Herald, October 2011
This, according to him, places severe limitations on his ability to cater to the needs of the animals. “If there is an emergency expenditure we need to incur, we are unable to procure the funds immediately, because approval is required from the city authorities which can take up to two months,” he says. This process severely hampers the animals’ mating cycle, Hussain adds. Zoo authorities do not have the money to purchase certain animals (a male or female pair) when they are available in the market. Often, by the time the finances are procured, the animal is no longer available for sale, Hussain says. “The prices of animals also continuously increase due to a devaluing Pakistani currency,” he adds. Even when the issue is not the purchase of animals but rather the expansion of facilities for existing animals, funds available are far from adequate. “The elephant house has to be enlarged, with a bathing space and playing area for the elephants,” Hussain tells the Herald, but this is not possible “because we are provided with inadequate funding.” Moreover, the Karachi Zoo has insufficient staff. A single veterinarian is in charge of its 450 birds, 225 mammals and 175 reptiles as the provincial government has frozen recruitment for the past five years. Zookeepers have self-trained over the years, and often, unable to address serious medical issues. This may explain why the authorities were unable to handle the birth and subsequent death of four cubs at the zoo. Without adequate knowledge about the history of the expectant lioness, the zoo staff continued moving her around when she was at an advanced stage of pregnancy thereby leading to possible medical complications. Having acquired the lioness from the wildlife authorities only recently, the Karachi Zoo was unaware about its disposition, Khan says. In addition, meagre funding allotted to the zoo has led to a decline in the number of animals it houses and the visitors it attracts. Last month, a visitor remarked to the Herald in disbelief that the Karachi Zoo was not “as good as” the one in the much smaller city of Bahawalpur. “There are practically no animals here,” she said. This highlights another problem: The management cannot charge visitors more than a token fee of 10 rupees. “We can’t increase the fee because of the small number of animals we have here,” admits Hussain. At the Lahore Zoo on the other hand, such funding problems have been circumvented after the establishment of a committee that approves financial requirements. Established in 1872, this zoo is one of the oldest in the world, and the largest in South Asia. Drawing crowds of more than three million visitors since 2010, the Zoo is governed by a
101
