No room for zoo
Setting up a zoo in the cramped environs of Peshawar is a bad idea
By Maureen Lines
I read the story in disbelief. I was horrified. A zoo in Peshawar? Someone had to be joking… I read the story again.
The Chief Minister wanted to construct a zoo in Peshawar. I am afraid the good gentleman has been ill advised. To give entertainment and knowledge to children about animals, wildlife and environment is very noble, BUT, Regi Lalma is not the place. This would be on the site of the old Kacha Gari Afghan refugee site.
Small zoos with cramped cages for wild animals are a thing of the past. It has been recognised as a cruel and inhuman concept. Large zoos or safari parks spread over wide open green spaces have taken their place.
Unfortunately, Pakistan is not known for its love for animals. I have forgotten how many times I have stopped the car to chase boys and men throwing stones at a frightened dog. And what about those awful pickups that carry chickens as commercial item from Lowari to Chitral and other destinations, in freezing cold or in the heat of summer, with the driver, from time to time, throwing the dead ones on top of the vehicle or out on to the roadway.
What about the smuggling of cattle to Afghanistan, and when the culprits are discovered, the animals are left without shelter or food.
Getting back to zoos, what about the notorious Lahore zoo? Recently, I saw another news item of a monkey in the Lahore Zoo being given water to drink through the bars of a cage. Why on earth was there not a bowl of drinking water inside the cage?
Who is going to build the Peshawar zoo? The Work’s Department? Who will design it? The 50-acre area selected for the zoo is treeless, so how are animals going to keep cool in the heat of summer? What kinds of animals are being considered for captivity? Is the climate going to be taken into account?
Some years ago, I was involved in trying to get help for the Kabul Zoo. Even the famous old lion, Marjam, had a large grassy enclosure. Where is the grass for the animals in Peshawar? Are they going to be condemned to live out their lives in horrible concrete cages?
Many of us are working towards projecting a good image of Peshawar, and towards the preservation and restoration of historic sites. Peshawar was always known as the City of Flowers, so if a thousand acres were allotted, where animal environs are kept as natural as possible and other areas made into attractive gardens, it could prove to be an enticing rendezvous for families at weekends and tourists. Animals, which are indigenous to the subcontinent, such as camels, could be used for giving rides to children and adults and show the visitors around the enclosures. Horse and buggy rides for small children and their parents could also be an attraction.
Besides, the location of the zoo, so close to the Khyber Agency, should also be questioned. Nato tankers for Afghanistan pass along the periphery of Kutcha Gari, night after night, one, two, ten, twelve are set on fire or a bomb explodes either at Kokana Market or at Torkum.
The Chief Minister and his advisers are urged to rethink this project. How will our children look at this project? At the animals kept in cages? And will the older ones not question the morality of a zoo in Peshawar?