By: Asem Mustafa Awan
The hell hole for the animals Marghzar Zoo is closed and the entrance has only statues of the animals which have sorrowful expressions as the facility has had many an untold murdering secrets.
The place which had made millions and made many millionaires overlooked the fact that what they have done was noticed globally. None has been punished and this blatant animals rights abuse is captured by the BT photographer who took the photo which depicts the agony on the lifeless statues.
The untold tales of animal oppression added with killings and theft of babies from voiceless creatures finally come to an end when Kaavan won its ‘right of freedom’ from court after years of battle followed by the Himalayan brown bear which was last to leave.
The Marghzar Zoo, a heart-throb for the children including this scribe deteriorated with the passage of time and with new entrants and politically appointed staff, the element of animal welfare was reduced to nothing.
The place generated money in the past but with politically influenced appointments besides thieves the ‘soul and spirit’ of the place was sucked with every passing day. Kaavan’s the lone elephant which became an international symbol of animal resilience and tenacity against the cruel and corrupt of Marghazar Zoo is now in Cambodia.
He was presidential gift from Sri Lanka and was accorded the same from current President Arif Alvi in the form of departure.
The poor and deteriorated health of animals followed by the viral video of the lions murders during transportation showed it all. The incompetent staff while dealing with the lions can be seen and identified. Will they ever get punished is yet to be seen? Their trial can unearth many an untold secrets of what went on in the zoo.
The facility was thrown to people who had nothing to do with animals or animals welfare for that matter. It is not known whether a probe has been ordered in the account books of the facility or not but if it is there, the tales if told would be gut wrenching and gruesome in nature.
It is an established norm the rich elite in order to express themselves makes a gaudy display of the wealth which in some cases are cars but in most cases it is the farm houses with exotic pets. A political party not long ago had a lion in its public gatherings and rallies and whether the creature survived or not, there is no word about it. The lion happens to be the symbol of the political party and how many lions have been with the party and how many died a probe should be made for the sake of ‘king of the jungle’.
Keeping exotic birds in Pakistan is a business and all birds which, vanished from the Marghzar Zoo from time to time ended up as business entities.
The records can always be fudged and in ‘land of the pure’ any record that is sought either gets burned or it doesn’t exist at all.
All the chicks born in captivity along with breeding pairs died that is most logical explanation and it is a documented proof in the registers if they at all exists in the facility.
The sale of ‘Swans from Governor House Karachi’ made headlines as the poor bird was considered a burden on the national exchequer and their lives possibly ended in a curry dish.
The government announcement to declare zoo as a national park is still awaited and hopefully this time the killing spree will come to an end as may be their will be people who for once will take the job on merit unlike the previous ones.
