WITH Eidul Azha around the corner, it is time to remember that we must treat our sacrificial animals with the love and care they deserve. The religious festival is observed with great enthusiasm across Pakistan every year, and children generally have a great time by being around these sacrificial animals. In doing so, however, they sometime cross the line. This happens mostly because they are not adept at animal rearing.

There is every reason fpr us to ensure the health, safety and hygiene of the sacrificial animals. Although people spend huge amounts of money on buying these animals, it has been observed that they do not care for them. Instead, people literally torture these poor animals, depriving them of sleep and rest even at nights.

Sunset actually marks the end of the day for most animals, especially herbivores, the category of animals to which the sacrificial animals belong. However, animals are kept in bright lights throughout the night, and are even taken on ‘walks’ that quickly turn into a ‘run’, and often into ‘races’ among the owners of several such animals. Such practices should be seriously avoided. By dimming the lights around the animals at night and letting them rest and sleep can save the animals from being irritated and agitated in the mornings. They surely deserve this much. Do they not?

Yumna Mahmood
Karachi

Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2025