ABDULLAH MUGHAL

LAHORE: After receiving several complaints regarding limited number of animals, the Lahore Zoological Garden has started a new process for animals’ procurement by excluding the long-awaited giraffes which were not seen there since 2015.

Sources at the Lahore Zoo said the authority has received the budget from the provincial government for the procurement of new animals. Initially, the authority has planned to spend Rs 16 million out of the developmental budget while Rs 25 million will be spent out of non-developmental budget.

According to a data available with Business Recorder, the zoo administration is procuring a large number of animals that include two pairs of White Crested Kalij Pheasant, Himalayan Monal Pheasant, Reeves Pheasant, Mute Swan, Bar Headed Geese, and five pairs of Mandarin Duck, Carolina Duck, Common Shell Duck, and one pair of trio Cameo Peafowl, Java Green Peafowl and many others.

Interestingly, they have also planned to procure each pair of White Lion, White Tiger and Cheetah, Sindh Ibex, While Fallow Deer, Brown Bear, Aldabra Giant Tortoise and others.

However, the documents suggested that the authority has not planned to procure the long-awaited giraffes which were imported in 2007 after a delay of more than 13 years. The last giraffe at the Lahore Zoo died in April 2015 due to heart attack while the second one died due to swallowing of a plastic bag. Earlier in April 2016, Director Lahore Zoo Shafqat Ali said they will soon import a couple of giraffes to fulfill visitors’ requirements.

Talal Ishfaq, a visitor at the Lahore Zoo, said he used to visit the zoo on every weekend and he always wished to see a giraffe. He requested the authority several times to bring new animals, particularly giraffes, so the children could enjoy more, he added. Nevertheless, the authority failed to procure giraffes, he regretted.

When this scribe informed him about the procurement, he expressed displeasure, saying they should consider procuring giraffes first. He said this is one of most popular specie all over the world, especially among the children because of his/her long neck and big-eyes. He said children do like this animal the most.

As one of the giraffe died due to swallowing of a plastic bag, he said, the administration has not paid any attention towards banning the use of plastic bags within its premises or especially around the cages of the animals.

He said they have not displayed banners, flexes and LEDs to create awareness among the visitors about the hazards of offering an ‘irrelevant food items’ to the animals which creates many problems for the animals and the zoo administration.