In yet another significant victory for animal rights, Pakistani lawyer Altamush Saeed and his legal team have secured another historic stay order against the cruel practice of dog culling.
This time, the order protects stray dogs in Faisalabad and Jhang, marking a second such legal intervention in Pakistan’s history. The ruling comes on the heels of a similar stay order obtained by Saeed’s legal team in Rawalpindi just last month. His team includes Advocate Ahmed Shoaib Atta as well as Mian Ahmad Farooq.
Altamush Saeed, the founding managing partner of Environmental and Animal Rights Consultants Pakistan, the nation’s first law firm and research think tank dedicated to animal and environmental law, is at the forefront of this movement.
A High Court advocate with a Master’s degree in Animal Law, Saeed is also the sole educator of animal law in Pakistan. His commitment extends to the legal community, as he is the Founder and Chair of Pakistan’s first officially recognized Animal Law Committee at the Lahore High Court Bar Association.
Dog culling, a practice involving the mass killing of stray dogs, has long been a controversial issue in Pakistan. Animal rights activists argue that it is not only inhumane but ineffective in controlling the stray dog population. Saeed and his team are championing alternative, more compassionate methods of population management, such as spaying and neutering programs.
These stay orders are not just legal victories, they are a step towards a more compassionate society. The back-to-back stay orders in Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, and Jhang represent a turning point in Pakistan’s approach to animal welfare. Saeed’s work is not only raising awareness about animal rights but also setting a precedent for future legal challenges against inhumane practices.