The Sindh High Court (SHC) has allowed a non-governmental organization to provide treatment to four elephants at Karachi Zoo and Safari Park.
A two-judge SHC bench headed by Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi directed the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) to provide the NGO unhindered access so that the animals can be given proper medical attention.
The SHC had been petitioned by the Pakistan Animal Welfare Society that hoped to shift the elephants to an appropriate habitat where they could also receive adequate medical care.
The petitioners’ lawyer, Abbas Leghari, informed the court about the veterinary health report of the four African elephants that had been submitted to the SHC by a team of veterinary doctors from Four Paws International in November last year.
The counsel stated that Dr Amir Khalil was intending to visit Pakistan again for the treatment of the elephants.
The lawyer for the KMC, Syed Hasan Abidi, said the KMC had no objection to the treatment of elephants by Dr Khalil.
Last year, a team of veterinary experts in its detailed reports had said that while the overall health condition of the elephants was good, two of the elephants at Safari Park, Sonu and Malika had foot problems while 17-year-old Noor Jehan, who lives at Karachi Zoo, had a broken tusk.
Headed by German veterinarian Dr Frank Goritz, the experts had also suggested some dietary changes and recommended that the elephants’ enclosure at Safari Park be enlarged to resemble their natural habitat.
