PESHAWAR: With the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s signature project of Peshawar Zoo still incomplete, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has approved the establishment of another zoo in Mingora area and a summer house for animal acclimatisation in Kalam valley of Swat district.

The three-year project, which was approved by the Provincial Working Development Party (PWDP) earlier this week, will cost a hefty amount of Rs1 billion.

The Mingora zoo will be spread over 75 kanals of land and Kalam summer house over 10 kanals.

Officials told Dawn that the wildlife department tasked with establishing the zoo had acquired 75 kanals of land from the Swat District Development Authority (SDDA) for Rs288 million. Additional 10 kanals will be acquired for the Kalam summer house.

Expert claims place will be ‘torture cell’ for animals as small piece of land allotted for it

Sources said Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, who belonged to Swat and loved hunting birds, especially waterfowls, had expressed the desire for the establishment of a zoo in his home district despite strong reservations of the relevant circles and conservationists.

A wildlife expert, who had served in the wildlife department, told Dawn that a menagerie for Swat was approved by the government when it had yet to overcome the liability of Peshawar Zoo.

He said the land specified for Mingora zoo was so little that it would turn out to be a ‘torture cell’ for animals to be kept there.

“Have a mercy on animals and do not put them into small cages!”

Conservationist and wildlife expert Mohammad Ashiq Khan said the benefits of zoo for people, especially children, couldn’t be ignored if animals were kept in good condition and treated properly.

Mr Ashiq, who currently works as the scientific representative of Italy-based Ev-K2-CNR organisation in Pakistan, said zoo management was a specialised subject and all standard guidelines should be put in place to protect animals from stress and depression.

The Ev-K2-CNR is an autonomous association, which promotes scientific and technological research in mountain areas with special emphasis on the Hindu Kush, Karakorum, Himalaya and works in Nepal, Pakistan, China (Tibetan Autonomous Region) and India.

“Keeping animals in depression is a crime,” he said, adding that the zoo should have skilled staff, budget and proper space for animals.

The provincial government had established a zoo in Peshawar in 2018. The facility, which is spread over 29 acres of land, attracted the criticism of animal lovers following the frequent death of dozens of animals, which were attributed to a lack of facilities and trained human resources.

A petition jointly filed by 24 civil society activists regarding the condition of Peshawar zoo is pending with the Peshawar High Court.

The petitioners sought the court’s orders for improvement of zoo conditions in line with international standards.

An official said the veterinary lab was still incomplete in the Peshawar zoo, while work on veterinary hospital inside the facility had yet to begin.

Currently, the government has appointed one veterinarian and two technicians to provide treatment to animals.

Officials in the wildlife department claimed that the approach for Swat zoo would be different from the one for Peshawar’s.

An official said a minimum number of exotic animals would be kept in Swat zoo and native wild species from the wildlife parks in Dera Ismail, Lakki Marwat and government-owned pheasantries would be shifted to it.

“The main purpose of the zoo in area like Swat is to transform the mindset of the people and create awareness of the nature,” he said, adding that the zoo also served as an entity of conservation and research.

The official said the Kalam summer house would be used as a centre for the acclimatisation of wild animals.

He said besides using the summer house as the acclimatisation centre, the animals of cold climate habitat would also be shifted there from Mingora, which became very hot in the summer season.

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2021