Dear Respected Ministers
We are writing to you deeply concerned for the welfare of Kaavan an Asian elephant being held for over 3 Decades at Islamabad zoo who's been forced to live isolated in horrible conditions.
Kaavan brought from Sri Lanka when he was around 1 years old made to live in barren conditions and continuously chained. He had a companion named Saheli but she has passed on in 2012 reportedly due to negligence of the zoo staff.
In 2016 visited by Four Paws elephant expert reported that Kaavan displays severe advanced mental distress , which is the reason we are writing to you on March 14, 2020 Kaavan was seen pressing his head on the wall of his enclosure this indicates something is terribly wrong of a neurological condition.
Just a day before this incident March 13, 2020 - Kavaan fell into the moat he remained in the ditch standing all night in the rain and was pulled out after breaking the front wall of the moat the next day.
Talks between NGO Free The Wild and Pakistani government have been ongoing, representatives of the organisation have travelled back and forth urging government officials to release the 36-year-old Asian elephant into an animal sanctuary.
Since the government have said that there is no funding allocated for Islamabad zoo for improvements , the NGO expressed wanting to help upgrade Islamabad zoo, training to staff and bring improvements in the infrastructure and retire Kaavan to Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary this would be at no cost to Pakistan.
On November 19, 2018 Both parties came to an agreement that a memorandum of understanding would be drawn up to carry this out.
The Mou was then delivered to the Mayor Sheikh Ansar Aziz early on in 2019 and has not yet been returned signed or provided any feedback when contacted.
We are not sure what the delays are that may be causing the continued agonizing suffering of these sentiment beings .
Now with the CRISIS of Coronavirus what chance do the animals have ? Islamabad zoo has no resources or funding to ensure that essential care is provided to the animals.
This whole mess could have been avoided if the Mou was signed as agreed upon a year ago.
We have now learned as of April 15,2020
The government has made the Ministry of Climate Change responsible for Islamabad Zoo.
Free The Wild endeavours to stop the suffering of wild animals in captivity and ultimately finding a way to release them into sanctuaries.
Hundreds of animals have died due to cruelty or lack of awareness by employees.
We urge you to Please turn This around and treat this as a priority
Thank You
#FreeKaavan #FreeTheWild #TeamKaavan #IslamabadZoo #CaptivityKills #AnimalWelfareWorldWide #Pakistan #AnimalRights #Islamabadzoo
Update #23 years ago
#TeamKaavan have been advocating for Kaavan’s release for 5 years !
We are overjoyed on the outcome Free The Wild litigation Owais Awan (lawyer) WON the case !
The IHC ordered wildlife officials to consult with Sri Lanka, where the Asian elephant came from, to find him a "suitable sanctuary" within 30 days.
Ordering all the animals be released to sanctuaries.
Now is the time to come together for this huge undertaking please help donate any amount to https://www.freethewild.org/donate
Update #14 years ago
We have now learned as of April 15,2020
The government has made the Ministry of Climate Change responsible for Islamabad Zoo.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1549227
