KARACHI: A pair of lions and a chimpanzee kept in miserable conditions for a circus performance for over a month in the Gulshan-i-Iqbal area were rescued on Thursday and shifted to the zoo by wildlife department officials.

No rescue effort, however, was undertaken for the five ponies and a dog, also part of the circus troupe, as they were not “wild animals and no law exists to protect their rights”.

“Only the lions and chimpanzee come under the department’s purview. A case will be registered once we have information whether the circus owner has the required permits [for keeping these animals],” said a wildlife department official who wished not to be named.

Ponies were a horse species and didn’t count as a “wild animal”, he added.

The animals, sources said, were reportedly brought from Lahore to Hyderabad where they performed in a circus.

After the animals were shifted to Karachi, the two lions, both male, and a female chimpanzee were kept in small cages under a huge tent erected in an open ground adjacent to Masjid Baitul Mukkaram in Gulshan-i-Iqbal. All animals as well as their caretakers were in a pitiable condition in the circus arena which seemed more like a junkyard.

“I have no skill to feed my family after my husband’s death. So, I decided to join the circus as a helper and earn enough to survive,” said a middle-aged woman Fauzia, looking after her mentally challenged teenage daughter.

She lived at the circus arena along with her two sons and an old ailing man suffering from severe breathing problem.

Speaking to Dawn, Mian Farzand, the circus owner, harshly criticised the “seizure” of his animals that he claimed were raised in captivity. He said initially the local administration had allowed him to hold a circus in Karachi but it later withdrew permission.

“No one has ever objected to our animal shows in Punjab. How come we have different laws on the same subject in one country?” he asked.

Dr Ejaz Ahmad, senior conservationist, called for a complete ban on circuses using animals. “There is also a court order in this regard which should be implemented. Second, there is a need to revise and activate the forgotten pre-Partition law of 1890 — the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act — which provides a protective cover to all animals.”

Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2017