• Condition of injured camel housed at animal shelter said to be stable, Murad informed
• District administration across Sindh told to act against instances of cruelty to animals

KARACHI: In the wake of the Sanghar incident in which a certain influential person had chopped off the leg of a camel over a petty dispute, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has directed the Sindh livestock department to establish indoor treatment facilities to upgrade at least three veterinary hospitals in the province to not only treat cattle but also street animals and birds.

The CM also directed the district administration across Sindh not to tolerate cruelty to animals.

He issued these directives while chairing a meeting to review the health recovery of the injured camel and a brutally beaten donkey at the Comprehensive Disaster Response Services (CDRS) Centre.

Fisheries & Livestock Secretary Kazim Jatoi, his vet team and Secretary to CM Raheem Shaikh attended the meeting.

Mr Shah directed the livestock department to upgrade three vet hospitals — one at Radio Pakistan Karachi and two others in Hyderabad and Khairpur — which should have indoor facilities.

“We have general veterinarians and vet surgeons in government veterinary hospitals, and their services are underutilised,” he said and directed the livestock secretary to engage them there so that the injured street animals could be treated there.

The CM said that the Sindh government had vet hospitals all over Sindh. “We must have good indoor facilities for animals, including street animals and birds where they could be provided medical treatment and surgeries,” he said.

He directed the livestock department to post good practising veterinary doctors and technicians, and provide them with X-ray machines, ultrasound and other facilities. “Our vets must be trained and equipped with necessary facilities,” he said.

Livestock Secretary Kazim Jatoi gave a detailed briefing to the chief minister about the injured camel and donkey.

The CM was informed that in Sanghar district, a young camel, owned by Soomar Behan, trespassed on June 13 the land owned by Ghulam Shar which was rented/ leased for cropping to another person reportedly named Jaffar. However, the crop owner chopped off the lower limb of the camel’s right leg with a sharp axe.

The local administration filed a criminal case against six suspects and the camel was moved to CDRS Animal Shelter and TNVR facility in Malir, Karachi with the assistance of the livestock and fisheries department.

“The young camel is currently stable with all vital signs and feeds on grasses and some concentrates with fresh water ad libitum,” the secretary informed the CM. Regarding the brutally beaten donkey, he said that its owner Mir Hassan Rind beat up the animal and it was found in the crop field of the local landowner Kaka Mirjatt in the vicinity of Cattle Colony Sirri, Hyderabad.

The donkey was reportedly beaten so severely that its hind legs got multiple fractures, with bruises almost on all body and severe bleeding from its wounds.

After filing an FIR with the local police station against the suspected owner, the ailing donkey was transported to CDRS Animal Shelter and TNVR facility in Malir, where it was currently being treated, he added.

The donkey is relatively stable with all vital signs active but not out of danger, the official said, adding that the fractured and paralysed limbs could develop moist gangrene which might travel to the upper limb area and pelvic region of the animal and lead to death.

The CM directed the livestock secretary to ensure proper treatment and care of both the injured animals and keep him posted about their progress.

Earlier, Livestock Secretary Jatoi had visited the CDRS animal shelter and announced that the Sindh government had committed to covering the cost of treatment for both animals.

He said that the CM stated that PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari was arranging a prosthetic leg for the camel from Dubai, reported Dawn.com.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2024