ISLAMABAD: Suzie and Bubloo, two Himalayan bears who were the last inhabitants of the Islamabad zoo, flew to Jordan on Thursday, almost three weeks after the country’s only Asian elephant was relocated to a wildlife sanctuary in Cambodia.
A Himalayan bear, one of the last inhabitants of the zoo in Islamabad, Pakistan, looks out of a cage before its departure to be relocated to Al Ma'Wa for Wildlife and Nature sanctuary in Jordan, on December 16, 2020. (Photo Courtesy: FOUR PAWS)
Amir Khalil, head of project development at FOUR PAWS International, and others, stand by a Himalayan brown bear being relocated to Al Ma'Wa for Wildlife and Nature sanctuary in Jordan, at the Marghazar Zoo in Islamabad, Pakistan December 16, 2020. (Photo Courtesy: FOUR PAWS)
With the bears’ departure, the zoo will now be completely closed to the public, the ministry of climate change has said.
The Express Tribune newspaper reported that Bubloo and Suzie were sent via Qatar Airline flight 633.
“The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) made special arrangements at the Islamabad airport for the safe transfer of the bears,” the newspaper reported. “A special team of the international animal rights organization Four Paws was also present on the occasion to oversee the transfer of the pair.”
Four Paws International also spearheaded the relocation of Kaavan the elephant, whose plight was championed by singer and Oscar-winning American actress Cher. She flew to Pakistan to see the elephant’s departure last month, and then went to Cambodia to watch him arrive.
The ailing health of Kaavan, an overweight, 35-year-old bull, highlighted the woeful state of Islamabad’s zoo, where conditions were so bad that the Islamabad High Court judge in May ordered all animals to be moved.
Two lions died during their relocation when zookeepers attempted to pry them from their pen by setting ablaze piles of hay. An ostrich also died in the move.
Islamabad Zoo was established in 1978 on 10 hectares of land as a home for indigenous species. Authorities now plan to expand it as a wildlife conservation center.
With little legislation to safeguard animal welfare, zoos across Pakistan are notorious for their poor conditions. In 2018, some 30 animals died within months of a new zoo opening in the northwestern city of Peshawar, including three snow leopard cubs.
Earlier this week, the IHC observed that the “bears’ natural habitat was the high altitude plateau of Deosai National Park in the Himalayas.” “It was indeed inhumane to have deprived them of living in their natural habitat, merely for the entertainment of humans.”
IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah termed the zoo a ‘dungeon for animals’, and said a zoo, no matter how well equipped, is no less than a concentration camp for living beings.
They were subjected to unimaginable pain and there is no justification for it as the bears’ behavior was unnatural while imprisoned, he added.
He said it is time to end imprisonment of sentient animals in cages at zoos and let balance be restored so they could live with dignity in their respective natural habitats and enjoy their natural rights.
