Islamabad: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has directed the Ministry of Climate Change (MCC) and the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) to decide by Monday, December 14 the fate of two Himalayan brown bears currently languishing in Marghazar Zoo of Islamabad.
These bears, Bubloo and Suzzee, were all set for relocation to Al Ma’wa Sanctuary for Nature and Wildlife in Jordan on December 10 when the Four Paws International—the animals’ rights group that has been supervising the project and had earlier moved Kaavan elephant to Cambodia—was told at the eleventh hour the plan was changed and the bears would be taken care of inside the country.
The ministry also cancelled the CITES export permit earlier issued on the orders of the IHC. This move of the Climate Change Ministry has been challenged by the animals’ rights activists, Friends of Islamabad Zoo and other groups in the IHC.
Chief Justice of the IHC Athar Minallah while hearing the case on Friday asked the MCC Secretary and the IWMB chairperson what plan they had for the two animals’ rehabilitation since in Pakistan they were merely fed and caged and didn’t have the facilities or the natural habitat.
Sanctuary in six months
Chairperson of the IWMB Rina S Khan told the court a sanctuary would be constructed within six months with all the internationally-accepted standards necessary for bears’ sanctuary.
“In the meanwhile, who will be responsible for their pain and suffering,” asked the judge. The IWMB chairperson tried to convince the judge the bears were being taken care of and the IWMB had taken a collective decision not to shift them.
The IHC judge said the bears have suffered unimaginably. One of them has a tumor while the other an open wound.
He asked if the IWMB had taken advice from an internationally renowned expert about setting up a sanctuary for bears and if she thought merely feeding the bears was sufficient.
To the IWMB chief’s repeated offer to visit the zoo, the judge asked her if she was willing to be caged like animals in the zoo.
He also referred to Kaavan’s case and asked the government representatives to feel proud of sending the pachyderm to a better place. You should be proud instead of feeling ashamed of sending Kaavan to a place where he is happy, the judge said.
“We have been exercising restraint and patience with the MCC and the IWMB for all their violations of the court’s orders and waited for one-and-a-half years before issuing orders of relocation of all the animals from the Islamabad Zoo”, said the judge.
Contempt proceedings
The court hinted at initiating Contempt proceedings if they, the IWMB chairperson and the MCC Secretary, failed to provide the opinion of an internationally-renowned expert over keeping the bears in Pakistan.
Four Paws’ Director of Project, Dr Amir Khalil told the court that the decision to keep the bears inside the country or send them to Jordan was purely the Pakistani government’s jurisdiction. He however, informed the court he had visited a proposed site for the sanctuary in Murree Hills but it lacked even basic facilities.
“We have spent even US$20,000 (Dh 73,459) to raise the standards of the place but later politics prevailed and the Punjab government made it clear it was not going to take the bears”, he further said. About Jordan’s sanctuary he said in that sanctuary each bear was allocated 5,000 sq metre space to roam freely, to swim and catch fish and live in wild life that is a wild animal’s basic right.
He also requested the court to make a decision by Monday as he and his team were away from their homes for the last four months first for Kaavan and now for the bears.