Animal Rights
We, at the Nexus, are very mindful of the fact that if not us, who else is going to take care of animals. However, far from taking care of animals, we tend to exploit them for our own purposes. We employ them as beasts of burden; we make them pull our carts and carriages; we use them as food; we extract milk from them; we get eggs from them; we keep them as pets; and we enjoy watching them in zoos. But we don’t really show the required degree of care and compassion towards them; we are not even close. And still worse, acts of cruelty, and even outright barbarism, are not uncommon.
Yet, the Nexus and its team do not falter on this count either.
So much so that when even a video showing mouse – a much despised animal in Pakistan – being tortured was aired we were probably the only ones who considered the issue important enough to be spoken against , and later got the write-up included in the Green Book which was being taught at public schools in South Punjab. In fact, an entire chapter of the Book was dedicated to the plight of animals in our country, and how best to treat them.
When the leg of a camel was cut, earlier this year, when she accidentally drifted into a nearby field, we were amongst the first ones to speak.
When a few months later, another such incident occurred, we again raised hue and cry and sought exemplary action against the perpetrators.
We are also the amongst those who are currently actively campaigning against keeping the animals in enclosures and zoos.
As regards zoos, we also plead that as long as they are not closed altogether, there shall be at least one day off for the visitors so that the animals confined there might have at least one day off for rest, respite and recuperation. Not only we plead that but were able to persuade at least the administration of Bahawalpur in 2023 to close their zoo one day every week in the larger interest of the animals confined there.
We also remain very concerned on the inhumanely manner in which animals are transported over long distances in Pakistan and are striving to bring in a regulatory regime.
In short, the injustice meted out to animals in Pakistan has many forms and facets. We, at the Nexus, vow to uncover each one of them, and take every action in our capacity to get it remedied.
