“I would be responsible even if a dog died at the banks of river Euphrates (Dajjlaah)”.

Omer razi Allaah talla. Second pious Khalifa of the Islamic Empire

Animal Welfare Project

Mr Prime Minister,
We all know that you are a dreamer and have always aimed for great things in life. We know
your vision for this government is “serving humanity” so I want to draw your attention to the
absolutely horrible plight of animals in our country. All animals on the whole but especially
street animals have absolutely no rights in Pakistan even when we are a member of the World
Organization on Animal Health called the OIE or Office International des Epizooties. Member
states have to ensure five basic freedoms for animals:

 Freedom from hunger, thirst and malnutrition

 Freedom from fear and distress
 Freedom from physical and thermal discomfort
 Freedom from pain, injury and disease
 Freedom to express normal patterns of behavior relevant to the animals own kind.
In Pakistan, the law dealing with animals was made in 1890 in the time of British India called
Prevention to Cruelty to Animals act and the amendment made recently does absolutely
nothing to improve their condition on the ground because it is without a holistic approach. This
new amendment just increased fines for animal cruelty or killing them but we see
maltreatment of animals and dog culling all over the country going on without any
consideration because there is no one to actually stop them from doing so. The whole society,
with a minute exception, and institutions are simply immune to this behavior being meted out
to these loving creatures. According to news sources, these poisoned or bullet ridden dogs are
later sold to meat shop as mutton. No one can imagine the staggering damage that it is doing to
human health yet that practice of dog culling goes on unabated. It is time to take actions and
here are my humble suggestions.
1. A complete new law should be written and enforced which ensures their rights. We
need upgraded version of animal rights, even better than the rest of the world because
we are Muslims and our Prophet (s) stressed the importance of caring and showing
mercy to animals and birds. The Tanzanian parliament passed a most comprehensive act
for animal welfare in 2008 which can be consulted later on. The good news is that even
in Pakistan, many NGO’s are trying their best and already working on it like SPAR in
Karachi, who have painstakingly drafted a comprehensive new draft to be passed by the
Sindh Assembly but frankly we all know what will happen to it. I will attach a copy of
that document with this letter just to give you an idea but I’m sure your task force can
improve upon it. For effective implementation of policies, new institutional structures
are needed such as Animal welfare advisory council, a scientific experiments oversight
council, animal health standards authority, trained officers like animal health inspectors
and a system of proper licenses for pet and breeding farms.
2. Ban Zoos and replace them with animal sanctuaries and safari parks. A prison is a
prison even if provides basic necessities of life. Magnificent creatures like tigers, lions,
cheetahs, elephants or even the naughty monkeys should not be isolated and taken
away from their natural habitat just to provide entertainment for public! I am 100%
certain that our holy Prophet (s) would never have allowed this cruelty as he was a
mercy for all mankind. The idea of a zoo is an obsolete idea and they are shutting down
all over the world to be replaced by animal sanctuaries or Safari parks. Pakistan has so
much beautiful land and wild areas where these sanctuaries can be made where people
can pay much more than what they pay on a Zoo visit but it would be more humane. We
are teaching our children cruelty by taking them to a zoo visit and letting them enjoy the
misery of caged animals where they have no will to live. The miserable condition of an
elephant in Islamabad named Kaavan forced international animal organizations to step
in and offer help in “giving freedom” to that poor soul where untrained staff was
maltreating him and kept him in chains. He is still suffering in his prison and does head
bobbing which is a huge sign of distress according to major scientific research. Luckily,
the one in Lahore died of loneliness which freed him from his abject misery. Elephant
live in families and isolating them from their natural habitat is a sin because the misery
of that lonely elephant is only because “We” want to be entertained even if that makes
his life a living hell. Freedom is a basic right for all life forms and then we wonder why
there is receding empathy in this world. Animal rights cut across ethical, social, cultural
and religious norms. New legislation has to be embedded with ethical framework to
promote civilized values that include kindness, care and respect for all life forms.
3. Strays should be provided animal “Panahgahs”. It was common practice in the
Ottoman Empire that they had shelters for dogs so it’s our Islamic heritage to take care
of all the weak segments in the society. It should be the duty of an Islamic Republic to
carry this tradition and provide animal shelters all over the country where dogs and cats
can be vaccinated, spay/neutered, get medical facilities and returned to the
communities after tagging them as safe. Again, NGO’s like Rabies Free Karachi are doing
these kind of programs with the help of donors but their outreach is very limited and
100’s of dogs are killed most brutally in Karachi alone despite their best efforts. By
Spaying/Neutering these street animals, government will get rid of unwanted animals in
a few years. Turkey is currently doing this service for their street dogs/cats and we see
such a loving society which honors the right of Allaah’s creatures to live within their
community as its integral part.
4. Breeders and pet shops should have strict check on them. Tollinton market, Empress
market and others like it should have proper accommodation for animals otherwise it
should be illegal to keep them in such small cages which is against their nature. Cats
simply cannot survive in cages and every day we see miserable footage of someone’s
caged precious stolen pet, sold here for few rupees and no one to ask these shopkeeper
how or why they are selling stolen animals. Pet owners should be provided affordable
facilities to microchip their pet, which is now a common practice in the west, in order to
 detect and retrieve their stolen or lost loved one. Any shop selling such pets should be
heavily fined and imprisoned for promoting theft of the innocent voiceless creatures.
Breeder should only be allowed licenses to breed cats and dogs if they can provide a
healthy environment to them instead of treating them like lifeless machines to
reproduce and watch their kids taken away from them even when they still need their
mothers.
5. Educate the masses about animal rights using all means. Media and educational
institutions should be used to impart education about basic animal rights from
childhood. Our Prophet was a great champion of animal rights so these golden lessons
should be included in our text books to build a good character of a Momin.
International Animal Rights Day, World Animal Day and World Wildlife Day should be
celebrated with more enthusiasm to create awareness on National level.
6. Experts and religious scholars should be involved to educate the masses. Masjids were
always a source to impart education to local people. Misconceptions about animals,
especially dogs should be clarified with historic evidence which shows that dogs are not
impure. Imam Malik who lived all his life in Madinah stated that dogs are pure
creatures. Nowadays, another scholar named Javed Ghamadi who always speaks with
logic, explained that one hadeeth which is responsible for people’s misconception about
not keeping dogs inside a house deals with a particular context where Jibreel (a)
allegedly said that he did not like dogs in the house when he came with Wahi. Ghamadi
sahib explained that it was a specific case where the most important message was
coming from the heavens so there could be a number of reasons for not having a dog
present. Like one could love his pet dog dearly but still want him outside during an
important official meeting or it could have been a personal dislike of Jibreel (a) but not a
general rule. Even this hadeeth makes me think that maybe our Prophet (s) had a dog
which Jibreel wanted outside during his visits but wallah hu Aalum. If angels don’t come
in houses with dogs in it then all crooks should get dogs in order to keep
Munkar/Nakeer away from recording their misdeeds. We suffer because we do not
know Quran or Arabic text. Translation of another hadeeth is also distorted which says
that one Qiraat weight is deleted from a person’s good deeds if he keeps a dog in a
house. The Arabic text is “amsikal qalb” which actually means, “to stop” or “to
imprison”. This clarifies that if you hold a dog as a prisoner than it is considered a sin
and that persons good deeds would be taken away. It is not for pets you love and take
care of. Quran is the one book which mentions dogs twice in a good way. Once where
Muslims can take a hunted bird out of the mouth of a trained dog and eat it because it is
hallal and second time in Surah Kahf where a dog was the companion of the seven
sleepers and protected them from danger while they slept. Our mullahs have distorted
our sublime religion and made people hate dogs who become a target of cruelty at the
hands of Muslims. Dogs are the most loyal and loving creatures on Earth which should
earn them our love and respect instead of hatred.
 7. Our Prophet (s) forbade imprisoning birds in cages. Allaah has given this unique quality
of flight to birds. It is a cruel act to imprison them and take away their God given right to
fly. Selling birds in shops and streets should be a punishable crime. People should enjoy
watching different species of birds in the parks, nesting and raising their children in a
natural environment as bird watchers or bird lovers. We all know the story of a bird
when he made a nest in a tent when our Prophet (s) was coming back from some
mission. Our Prophet (s) ordered his companion to put back the nest of a bird when he
heard the cries of the mother. The whole tent was left behind in the field just to show
mercy to one bird. Here, we have made a mockery of this hadeeth and we see hawkers
selling dozens of ordinary sparrows hurled in one cage where people emotionally
blackmailed into showing mercy by paying for their freedom. The next day, the hawker
has again captured the same birds and the circus goes on because some idiot is too lazy
to earn an honest living.
8. The beasts of burden should also be treated humanely. Donkeys, mules and horses are
still used as beasts of burdens and according to Brooke’s report, 112 million of them
support 600 million people in developing countries. These ‘Invisible workers’, as called
by Rukhsana Shah in her recent article who was a formal federal secretary, are
overburdened, underfed and brutally maltreated. There should be strict laws which can
ensure how much load they can carry, how much time they should be used to work and
what medical facilities made available to them if they are hurt or sick. ACF is working in
Karachi for the welfare of donkeys but again it is insufficient.
9. More trained vets and health facilities for animals. There are very limited government
facilities in even major cities regarding animal health. The animals related to dairy
farming or poultry get much better facilities but pets and street animals do not enjoy
easy access to health with the result that incompetent and fraud vets have started their
private clinics everywhere. There are simply no repercussions if the vet kills an innocent
animal due to pure negligence or incompetence. They treat our precious pets as “an
animal” instead of a family member and a source to earn thousands of rupees for simple
medication but with no responsibility. I am a member of several animal right groups and
so many pet owners have related their tales of horror while dealing with vets and their
unsympathetic callous behavior. There are always exceptions but pet owners should not
be hurt and robbed like that just for owning a pet. Government should have a stricter
check on these malpractices.
These are a few main suggestions but I’m sure much more can be done if there is a will to do it.
Mr Prime Minister, you wanted to change Pakistan and Allaah granted you that wish but now
you have to act or be answerable to Allaah on Judgement Day. May Allaah have mercy on us
and make things easy for all of us. Ameen!
Ayeza Haider
23 Jan 2019