Pakistani teenager, Syed Hassan was 16 when he tried to save a starving cat that had eaten iron fillings at a notorious pet market in Lahore.
It was his first animal rescue attempt — unsuccessful, but one that changed the teenager’s life and the fate of hundreds of animals he has saved since then. Animal cruelty was instated as a punishable offense in Pakistan last year, but rescue workers say fines alone do not deter abuse, which is widespread in the country where protection laws are long outdated and welfare groups struggle with resources to treat and shelter abandoned and neglected pets.
Registered as a charity in Canada, Hassan’s Project Save Animals has four members, including a Canadian national. Since 2018, they have rescued over 700 and found them forever homes. “In June 2018, at the age of 16, I started this animal rescue work,” Hassan told Arab News, recalling the attempt to save the malnourished cat from Tollinton Market. “We took her to veterinary doctors but could not save her. That incident ignited the spark and I decided to rescue as many animals as I can.”
The group rescues abused animals, mainly cats and dogs, and puts them in foster care at homes in Lahore. They also run neuter and vaccination programs for strays, as well as awareness campaigns. Most of their rescues have been adopted in Canada as there is a “very low ratio of adoption of street or non-breed animals” in Pakistan, Hassan said. “We have rescued above 721 animals, all were adopted and living a good life in their new homes.”
The adoption process is closely supervised, he added: “We keep doing follow-ups with adopters to ensure these animals are properly looked after. We get weekly and then monthly updates about their wellbeing.” The main challenge for now is the cost of travel, for which Project Save Animals resorts to crowdfunding. When the funds are not enough, its members contribute themselves. Hassan himself is a first-year student of business administration.
“We have to contribute a lot from our own pockets,” he said. “It costs a great deal to send an animal to Canada.” The organization charges an adoption fee of about $800. To transport a dog to Canada costs more than $1,700. Being registered in Canada, Hassan said the group hopes they would be able to get grants from the Canadian government in the near future to support their cause.
At home, his struggle is still about basic animal rights. “We, animal rescuers, urge the government for laws that protect and improve the lives of these innocent beings,” he said. “The government of Pakistan needs to take animal rights seriously and introduce laws that protect the weakest of our society.”
