There’s no surprises when we see the ill-treatment of animals, pets and stray animals plastered across social media from time to time in Pakistan. It has become common practice to mistreat animals and the issue has come to the forefront on a number of occasions. A number of celebrities and social media personalities have also brought the issue into the spotlight and highlighted on a number of occasions that swift action should be taken for the protection of these animals.
Recently, a video of a baby bear panting behind bars at a Karachi zoo went viral across social media and truly shows the plight these animals face. The video was first shared by actor Mashal Khan after which a number of celebrities shared it on their social media while many netizens called for the shutting down of Karachi zoo.
“Look at the agony in her eyes; begging onlookers fir help. PLEASE help her by raising your voice against this. Shut down Karachi zoo! It is pure evil! Put an end to this!” Mashal captioned the heart wrenching video.
Ushna Shah is one actor who has raised her voice for animal rights on a number of occasions and has called for an end to their mistreatment. And now once again, the actor has raised her voice following the viral video of the baby bear. Taking to Instagram, Ushna Shah penned a note to elaborate on the video and shared another image of a healthy looking bear which is pictured in its local habitat.
The caption reads, “Pehlee doh videos hein Karachi Zoo mein eik reech kee jo garmee mein tarap raha hei. Teesri image hei eik reech kee jo apnay kudratee mohawl mein hei (The first two videos show a baby bear panting because of the heat at the Karachi zoo, while the last image shows a baby bear in its natural habitat).”
She continues by saying, “Jaanwaron ki numaish unkey saath na-insaafi hei aur unn pey shadeed Zulm hei. Agar janwar dekhne ka shoq hei toh unn key mohowl mein jaa key dekhna chahiye (The display of animals is immense injustice, if you are so interested in watching animals, kindly observe them in their natural habitats).”
Ushna Shah highlights the fact that visiting these zoos means you are contributing to the sufferings of enslaved animals. “Eisee jagahon ko band karwa deina chahiye. Zoo eik eisee jail hei jahan sab qaidee bey-gunah hein (Places like the zoo should be closed down because they are prisons where all inmates are innocent).”
To conclude her message to all her fans and followers, she urged them to raise their voice against all zoos in their respective cities so that their local governments can take action against these vile practices. “Zoo aur marine-animal shows ko bilkul bhee support matt keejiye aur apney dosto aur rishtaydaron ko bhee samjhayein key janwaron ki numaish karna aur dekhna shadeed bey-rehmi hei (Do not support zoos or marine animal shows and please educate your family and friends against them. Make them understand that such exhibits are cruel).”
She also highlighted that God has created jungles, mountains, seas, rivers, and an entire sky to wild animals and questioned how humans could imprison them in small, enclosed spaces for their own entertainment? “Unko qaid kar key rakhna Eik nihayat bhayanak harkat hei jo sirf insaan karta hei. Iss haqeeqat pey ghaur keejiye, apney dil mein rehem aur narmee peida kee jiye aur qudrat key khilaaf iss harkat ko khatam keejiye,” she concluded.
