Animal lovers and rescue organizations from the twin cities held their second protest against the brutal and inhumane dognapping and surgeries on dogs at veterinary universities at the Press Club Islamabad on Sunday evening.
The main protestors were Yair Salman of Animals Rescue and Adoption Islamabad, Critters Ark Welfare Organization (CAWO) head Anila Umair, United Stray Animals Rescue (United Rescue); actress Mishi Khan who runs a dog shelter called Barks; and animal rights activist Humayun Javed.
The protestors termed the conditions of the academic practice that came to light in viral videos last week as ‘animal abuse’, and reiterated their demands that animals should not be kidnapped by students for unethical, incomplete, and subpar experiments and surgeries. They also highlighted how animal sciences institutes across Pakistan, particularly Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi (PMAS-AAUR), Riphah College of Veterinary Sciences (RCVetS) in Lahore, and COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), are answerable for the abuse and cruelty meted out to the animals at their laboratories.
Expounding on the protestor’s demands, Yair Salman said, “The policies for practicals at veterinary universities must be changed and the tradition of students kidnapping healthy animals for barbaric experimentation must end. All academic tests and surgeries must be done properly and must not harm or kill the animals. This must be followed at all the veterinary sciences universities, not just at Arid Agriculture University and Riphah University”.
He told this scribe that the cause “needs positive social support at this time, for which we have to be genuine. There are a lot of elements that are withholding information and presenting negative responses. This will negatively impact our mission. A game is being played on the inside”.
A press release titled ‘Protest Against Animal Abuse & Cruelty’ issued jointly by CAWO and United Rescue after the protest yesterday read: “In the Islamic Republic of Pakistan; We as a Nation need to know how our Law and Islam teaches us to treat all living beings! NO ONE HAS A RIGHT TO ABUSE ANY LIFE. Critters Ark Welfare Organization and United Rescue Team request you to join us for awareness & protest against the illegal and horrible practice by many institutions. Who is responsible for torture, abuse and painfully end the lives of animals in our surroundings [sic]”.
“Domestic Animals have equal rights to be with us. ALLAH did not create any living thing without a purpose. THIS IS WHY WE SHOULD ALL CONTINUE TO FIGHT FOR THIS CAUSE! This doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world! We are not against vets, but unethical universities that are teaching future vets to be heartless men and women who don’t value the life of an animal just because he was born on the streets! We as the public, care for them! We save them! The public feeds them! [sic] #EducationNotExperimentation #stopanimalcrueltypk”.
Case Update
Yair Salman told ProPakistani that two sisters from Karachi, namely Sonia and Misbah Hassan, had independently and mysteriously collected the dogs in question from PMAS-AAUR’s Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (FV & AS) on Friday, which has thwarted the efforts of the original rescuers.
Navida Asim, the owner of one of the 12 kidnapped street dogs, Bubble, who was found at PMAS-AAUR last week, was informed that the sisters had taken Bubble to Dr. Rana’s Pet Care Center in Islamabad on Friday. She told this scribe that she had not been asked for permission for Bubble to be taken and that she did not know Sonia and Misbah. Navida also learned that the sisters had planned to take the ‘rescued’ dogs to a farm in Chak Shahzad.
After tracing them and asking them about the dog, Navida was responded to in a demeaning and derogatory manner by Misbah (voice notes available with this scribe), who also refused to facilitate Navida and warned her not to “harass” them.
Navida visited Dr. Rana’s Pet Care Center on Saturday and was able to meet Bubble, who had a bandage wrapped around her lower belly.
Dr. Akmal Rana, the founder of the clinic, told ProPakistani that Sonia and Misbah Hassan are his clients and had brought the 12 dogs from PMAS-AAUR to his clinic on Friday. He claimed that the wounds of all the dogs, both with and without stitches, were “fine” and that only one of them (Bubble) has been hospitalized because her “wound was not okay”.
Dr. Rana remarked, “But that’s not a big issue because if a surgery goes bad or the wound gets infected, that’s how the students learn. If everything goes well, then how would the students learn or know, I mean, in this situation, when the wound goes bad, post-surgical infection or post-surgical trauma; that’s how they learn”.
“It’s good. I take it really positively that it’s good learning for the students,” he emphasized.
His staff told ProPakistani today that Sonia had brought the 12 “wild and domestic dogs” in a truck to the clinic on Friday and had Dr. Rana treat them in the clinic’s parking lot, after which she left with 11 of them. The clinic has no information about the whereabouts of these 11 dogs.
Regarding Bubble, Dr. Rana said that he has opened up her wound and stitches for “open healing” and that she needs to be hospitalized for 15 to 20 days. He stated that Bubble is doing well, is eating properly, and is defecating normally, which is why he does not believe she is suffering or in pain.
He invited ProPakistani to visit his clinic to observe Bubble and mentioned that Navida had also visited her pet over the weekend and that he had told her that “there is nothing to worry about”.
The other 11 dogs were still untraced at the time this story was filed this morning. ProPakistani also contacted Misbah but she refused to comment on her involvement in the case.
What’s wrong with people. Just praying 5 times a day won’t get you to heaven if you keep doing such nasty things.