KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has accorded permission to a non-governmental organisation to provide treatment to four elephants being kept at Karachi Zoo and Safari Park.

A two-judge SHC bench headed by Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi directed the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) to not cause any obstacles in providing treatment to the animals.

The Pakistan Animal Welfare Society and others had petitioned the SHC seeking shifting of the elephants to an appropriate habitat and provision of required medical care to them.

The petitioners’ lawyer, Abbas Leghari, informed the bench about an ad-hoc report regarding veterinary health assessment of the four African elephants and submitted that the team of veterinary doctors, who had visited Pakistan, had recommended treatment for the elephants.

The counsel stated that Dr Amir Khalil was intending to visit Pakistan at the cost of petitioners’ organisation for the treatment of elephants.

The lawyer for the KMC, Syed Hasan Abidi, said the KMC had no objection to the treatment of elephants by Dr Khalil.

Consequently, the bench in its order stated that permission was accorded to provide treatment to four elephants and the KMC would not create any hindrances in that regard.

Last year, a team of veterinary experts in its detailed reports had said that the overall health condition of the elephants was good, but two of them kept at Safari Park had curable foot problems and the elephants at Karachi Zoo had tusk issues as well as low haemoglobin concentration.

The team headed by German veterinarian Dr Frank Goritz had also suggested some immediate and long-term measures to address foot, dental and other issues.

Published in Dawn, May 21st, 2022