The rich of Pakistan, apparently, like to possess exotic creatures such as white lions. The laws of Pakistan allows them to import these animals but there are no laws regulating how they are to look after them once they enter their private zoos. This is a recipe for animal abuse. It’s a recipe for the destruction of wildlife conservation and it should be halted. It is highly self-indulgent, ignorant and frankly pathetic.
If Pakistan wants to enter the real world, the modern world it should wake up, sit up and start getting their act together with respect to wildlife conservation.
One such rich industrialist in Pakistani is Bilal Mansoor Khawaja who delightedly tells the press, as he runs his clammy hands over an ivory white lion, that it is one of thousands of exotic animals at his personal zoo in Karachi.
“These are [some] of the rarest animals I own.”
To me, he’s a complete moron and he should be heavily criticised for what appears to be an unquenchable desire to possess exotic creatures to boost his profile and entertain himself. He is the worst kind of person when it comes to wildlife conservation. Someone has to provide him with his animals. Where do they come from? They can come from the wild where they are stolen. Where cubs are taken from their mothers and then shipped over to Pakistan. It’s all completely mindless and utterly objectionable. Or they are bred in Pakistan. It’s just not morally right. They are almost certainly heavily inbred with health issues.
The report on Yahoo News tells us that there are at least 300 such animals in Karachi kept as pets or captive animals on rooftops inside cages or in backyards. This is a city with grinding traffic and crumbling infrastructure. And you got pathetically self-indulgent people with a bit of spare cash bribing others to bring in lions as pets.
Khawaya says that his handful of lions and a tiger are his crown jewels. He has amassed a 4,000 animals for collection over the years. It’s astonishing. It is disrespectful of wildlife and the man should be stopped.
He says that he has 800 different species of animal in his possession. He says that it is a manifestation of his love for pets.
“We Pakistanis have a problem: where our heart is soft it’s very soft. Where it’s hard, it’s very hard.”
I can add to that. Where the brain is stupid it is very stupid. And that applies to you Bilal.
An importer of exotic animals into Pakistan, Aleem Paracha says that for Rs.1.4 million he can deliver a white lion to a client in up to 48 hours. And is entirely legal under Pakistani law.
I thought that such importation of animals were forbidden under international treaty. Apparently not. So much for international treaties.
Apparently, there is an international network of breeders across Pakistan providing lions at a moments notice. There are 30 such breeders in Karachi alone. In Karachi it is said that lion farming is doing very well. There are no laws about breeding lions. Although the government has guidelines (but not law) on how to treat big cats and enclosures.
A local veterinarian says that lions suffering from calcium deficiencies are common at her clinic. She has treated between 100 to 150 big cats over the years. The bones become very brittle she says. When the lion jumps down a small distance the bones in the foot become damaged. This is animal cruelty.
Khawaya says that he is doing nothing wrong and that it does not harm wild species. He believes that he is doing conservation work because the animals that he takes from the wild are becoming extinct. I’m afraid you’re mixed up. It is people like you who cause the animals to become extinct in the wild.
Conservationists dismiss his pathetic arguments.
