A camel that lost its leg to mutilation in Sindh’s Sanghar district last year stood up for the first time on Tuesday with the help of a prosthetic leg.

The camel, now named Cammie, had her front leg allegedly chopped off by a landlord in June 2024, as punishment for foraging in his field for fodder, for which six suspects were remanded.

She was taken in by the Comprehensive Disaster Response Services (CDRS) Benji Project for Animal Welfare in Karachi, where she has spent over a year.

Today, the shelter provided an update that Cammie had stood up for the first time since her mutilation, along with a video showing her getting used to walking with her new prosthetic leg.

“It’s been a year of tears, setbacks, rehab, pain, and quiet perseverance. A year where we were told to give up, to move on, to stop delaying the inevitable. But we chose to stand by her. And today, she stood for us all.”

The shelter thanked its team and supporters, as well as PPP MNA Shazia Marri, PPP Senator Quratulain Marri and the Sindh government for their “unwavering support and trust in [the team’s] mission”. The Sindh government had previously committed to covering the cost of the treatment.

Both sisters had taken stern notice of the camel mutilation incident. In a joint statement last year, they said that veterinary doctors referred them to CDRS, and rescuing the camel was a “joint effort”.

Shazia said today that there was “no greater feeling than when months of hard work, care and consistent efforts pay off!” while the latter said: “Dedicated service over momentary outrage any day. You stuck to this long after the temporarily infuriated had forgotten her existence. Everyone on the team who continues to care for Cammie - they are the superstars!”

The shelter also thanked the founder of Bionic Pets, Derrick Campana, who designed and created the custom prosthetic to fit Cammie.

“We still have a long road ahead as Cammie adjusts to her prosthetic, but today is for celebration, for hope, and for all the silent victories that happen when you refuse to give up,” the shelter said.

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Pakistan has almost no animal welfare policy or service in place. The most prominent law for animal protection, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (1890) — which dates back to the colonial era — is limited in scope and lacks understanding of animal welfare in today’s context.

The federal government did pass a law in 2018, increasing the fines for animal cruelty. It increased the maximum fine to Rs100,000 for animal cruelty, which had remained at the Rs50 level since the law was first passed in 1890, for first-time offenders. The minimum fine was raised to Rs10,000. There was a similar increase in fines for other offences against animals.

However, the law is only applicable in the federal capital, and does not extend to the rest of Pakistan. This is because animal welfare became a provincial subject after the 18th Amendment, and provinces are required to enact their own laws.

That is yet to happen, resulting in punishment for offences against animals in the rest of Pakistan staying the same as they were under the 1890 law.