In a pivotal moment for Pakistan’s developing animal rights jurisprudence, the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench hears two urgent and precedent-setting public interest petitions today — both led by renowned animal and environmental law advocate Altamush Saeed, Founding Managing Partner of Environmental and Animal Rights Consultants Pakistan (EARC), the country’s first dedicated animal and environmental law firm and think tank.
The first petition, Anila Umair v. Municipal Corporation Islamabad, et al., is a Contempt of Court case seeking punitive action against authorities responsible for the ongoing illegal culling of stray dogs in Punjab and Islamabad. Despite repeated and binding rulings by the Lahore High Court — including the seminal decisions by Hon’ble Justice Shahid Karim and Hon’ble Justice Jawad Hassan — which clearly prohibit dog culling and direct the adoption of Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return (TNVR) as the only lawful and humane strategy, local and municipal authorities have continued to engage in systematic killing of dogs through shootings, poisonings, and burnings.
“These actions not only violate court orders — they violate our collective humanity,” said Saeed. “We are urging the Honourable Court to enforce its authority by holding violators in contempt, and by reaffirming that science-backed TNVR is the only ethical and effective way to build rabies-free, safe communities.”
Parallel to this, in Anam Zeb v. DG Wildlife Pakistan, the Court will hear a wildlife welfare petition demanding the immediate rescue and relocation of a blind bear suffering in deplorable conditions at Bansra Gali Zoo, Murree, after previous confinement at Lahore’s Jallo Safari Park. The bear, visibly malnourished and isolated, is deprived of species-appropriate shelter, clean water, and medical care — in violation of both legal obligations and international best practices for wildlife care.
“The ongoing captivity of this bear is emblematic of the deep institutional neglect of wildlife in Pakistan,” Saeed noted. “We are calling on the Court to order the bear’s transfer to a species-specific sanctuary, where he can finally receive the care, protection, and dignity every living being deserves.”
These back-to-back cases are part of a growing body of legal action rooted in the constitutional recognition of interspecies justice — a legal and ethical framework supported by earlier landmark decisions such as the Kaavan judgment of Hon’ble Justice Athar Minallah, and the Punjab Animal Birth Control Policy 2021, developed under the supervision of Hon’ble Justices Ayesha Malik and Jawad Hassan.
“These are not isolated cases,” Saeed emphasized. “They are part of a larger legal transformation — one where Pakistan’s courts are beginning to view animals not as property, but as sentient beings entitled to protection, dignity, and justice.”
The hearings have generated national and international attention, marking a significant turning point in the movement to integrate animal protection into the mainstream of constitutional and environmental law in Pakistan.
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