KASUR: A rare Indian Sambar, a large deer, that entered Havali Padianawali village and was injured by wild dogs, died on Monday, a few hours after it was captured and allegedly maltreated by locals.

As per wildlife officials, the Sambar might have entered the Pakistani territory after crossing over from India. As the wild deer entered Haveli Padianwali village, a pack of stray dogs attacked and injured it.

They said the locals rescued it from the dogs but injured it further in a bid to catch it.

The deer, according to some locals, was already exhausted and badly injured by stray dogs.

The locals said that after being captured the injured animal was kept at the outhouse of a landlord, where it died a few hours later.

A video clip uploaded on social media shows that the animal already injured by dogs was handled badly by the villagers in a bid to capture it.

The locals informed the wildlife officials about the presence of Indian Sambar in the village only after it died, sources said.

On learning about the incident, the wildlife department officials rushed to the village and took the Sambar’s body in their custody and shifted it to the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) for autopsy.

Wildlife District Officer Usman Shah also submitted an application to the police, seeking legal action against those who maltreated the animal that had been listed as a vulnerable species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List since 2008.

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2021