A woman in Lahore has sued a veterinarian for the death of her cat, claiming negligence and malpractice.
Fariha, the owner, claimed that her cat had died of excessive bleeding after its vet extracted four of its teeth.
She is now seeking Rs. 900,000 in damages and even brought four of its orphaned kittens to court for the hearing on Saturday.
A similar case occurred in Islamabad in July in which a citizen sued a local veterinarian, Dr. Faisal Khan, for ‘negligence’ that purportedly caused the death of his pet dog. He also filed an application in an additional sessions court against the local police for not registering the case against the vet.
As per the petition, “The dog had been taken in for an ultrasound and routine checkup when the veterinarian administered an antibiotic drip that killed the dog”.
Dr. Khan presented the photos and WhatsApp messages in the court but the petitioner did not present anything on record to prove his claim, which led to the petition being rejected.
The court stated that the “deliberate criminal intent of the doctor has not been proved, for example, if the services are not provided properly, the petitioner can claim against those but according to the police report, the doctor is not at fault nor there has been a crime”.
The federal government launched new animal welfare and protection reforms in Islamabad this June, which will be extended to the provinces in due time.
