Landmark judgement on animal welfare

The Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court Justice Athar Minallah has authored a landmark judgment on animal welfare and wildlife laws. There were three petitions which were clubbed together 1) Relocation of Brown Bear 2) Relocation of Kaavan, the Elephant to a sanctuary and handing over of the zoo from Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) to Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) 3) Stopping of stray dog shooting as a mechanism of dog population control.

The petition relating to the bear was filed by IWMB while the petitioners in dog shooting and Elephant petition was represented by Owais Awan Advocate. For the first time in the history of Pakistan, "animal sentience" has been recognized within the constitutional framework based on eco-centric principles of Islam, definition of "Right to Life" under Articles 9 & 14 of the Constitution and Universal Declaration of Animal Rights.-PR