KARACHI: Police in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province on Wednesday arrested a man on charges of chopping off a donkey’s legs after it strayed into his employer’s land, highlighting the latest case of animal brutality in the country.
Animal abuse in Pakistan caught the spotlight last month when a local landlord in the southern Sanghar district was accused of chopping off a camel’s leg after it strayed into his fields for grazing. The story, which triggered uproar on mainstream and social media, led to the camel being transported to an animal shelter in Karachi for treatment. Six suspects were arrested by the police. In another incident in the southern Umerkot district last month, a camel was found dead with its legs amputated.
Bashir Ahmed, a resident of Punjab’s Muzaffargarh city, said his donkey suffered severe leg injuries after wandering onto the property of local landlord Khalil Jatoi on Monday. Local police arrested Sajjad Hussain, Jatoi’s employee, in connection with the crime.
“We have arrested Sajjad Hussain, who has been nominated in the case,” Muhammad Saleem, the investigating officer, told Arab News. “He will be produced before the court soon.”
Police filed a complaint against Hussain under Section 429 of the Pakistan Penal Code, which prescribes imprisonment of up to two years, or a fine or both, for anyone who “commits mischief by killing, poisoning, maiming, or rendering useless any animal or animals.”
However, Ahmed said the prime suspect was Jatoi, whom he said remains at large and was pressurizing him to drop the charges.
“While his employee Sajjad has been arrested, Khalil Jatoi has not yet been apprehended and he is threatening me to withdraw the case,” Ahmed alleged.
Ahmed said he used to sell fruits and vegetables on a cart that was pushed by the donkey.
Arab News could not independently verify whether Ahmed had received threats or not and Jatoi could not be reached for comment. The landlord has also not been nominated in the police complaint.
As per the complaint, Ahmed found the back legs of the donkey chopped off. The complaint also mentioned an eyewitness, Azfal Hussain, who informed police that Hussain had wounded the donkey.
Ahmed said the animal, which was undergoing medical treatment arranged by the provincial government, was the only source of his income for a family comprising five people.
“I’m hurt not only financially but emotionally as well since I’ve been caring for the donkey,” Ahmed added.
Pakistan’s existing animal cruelty laws, rooted in the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1890, prohibit various forms of animal cruelty, including beating, overdriving, and mutilation. The legislation also prescribes penalties for breaches of these anti-cruelty provisions, which can include fines and imprisonment, though these are not always effectively enforced.
And despite the laws, officials themselves poison hundreds of dogs yearly in an effort to curb a population of strays that attack thousands of people.
