Who let the dogs out?
The puppy is six weeks old. She has black fur all round except for a little white mark on her neck. She likes to drop her food on the ground before attempting to eat it. If she likes you, she will bite your foot. Her owner, my friend, is madly in love with her new pet. I spent the evening at her house playing fetch with her Rottweiler puppy and went inside to wash my hands. And that’s when she says: “You should probably do wuzu (ablution) you know.” The tap water is running, I have soap in one hand. “Sorry?” I ...
Read Full Post
Video Blog: Dog fights…culture and cruelty
Dog fighting is a blood sport that has been practised for centuries around the world. In Pakistan dog fighting is also a popular sport; a fighter dog takes two years to get ready for fighting. It’s a knockout game, once a dog loses a fight, it cannot qualify in any tournament in Pakistan ever again. This film is on a dog fight tournament held in Sargodha. This video was originally posted on Maati.tv ________________________________________________ [poll ...
Read Full Post
Animal cruelty does not make for good entertainment
It’s quite the norm in Pakistan to come across monkey-trainers putting on a show or hearing about a rooster fight taking place in a certain village, or even going to the beach and witnessing people paying to watch a snake and a mongoose fight it out – all in the name of harmless fun. It is quite disturbing, however, to see the media take this form of entertainment – if you can call it that – to the next level. Channel surfing one morning, I chanced upon a TV show where a trainer tried to coax his goat to stand on ...
Read Full Post
Does anyone care about the peacocks in Thar?
Are you aware, ladies and gentlemen, of what Tharparker’s peacocks are going through? According to a news report a strange disease is stalking them. The infected bird develops a bulge in the neck which keeps growing and then bursts. From this sore a worm crawls out. The beautiful bird turns blind and pretty soon stops breathing. The report says in Khipri and Islamkot areas of Tharparker district the situation is so bad that as many as 10 birds are dying a day from the mystery disease. The Thar peacocks did not have it easy even before this epidemic, the ever-expanding human settlements ...
Read Full Post
It pays to be an animal
Raymond Davis is finally back home in the United States, despite all our efforts to try him in Pakistan. His case reminds me of trophy hunting in our northern areas, where hunters pay a ridiculously large amount to hunt a restricted number of wild animals such as Markhor and Ibex. The collected money is spent on communities that live around the habitat of these wild animals. This programme has been going on successfully for quite some time. In fact, just recently in Gilgit, a Mexican citizen hunted down a Markhor for which he paid a staggering $51,000 to the government. Since ...
Read Full Post
Are animal rights even an issue?
A couple of years ago, a relative of mine met a government employee whose job is the eradication of stray dogs. By profession, he is a dog shooter. He roams the streets searching for strays, and shoots them on sight. Sometimes the first bullet only maims, and he must walk towards the dog to shoot again. He did not choose this job because it was to his liking; he entered this profession because it was all he could find as a means to feed his own family. After all these years of violence day in and day out, he is psychologically ...
Read Full PostI know a puppy killer
Last year, I came across a girl whom I despised at first sight. Some girls have a legitimate phobia of animals but some make a big deal about being afraid, thinking it’s endearing to be the damsel-in-distress. I was afraid when I was five and didn’t know any better, but when I see grown women screaming at the sight of a tiny animal, I can’t help but think they look ridiculous. Initially, that’s all I thought this was, a stupid girl scared of a pint-sized puppy. When it ambled up to her, she kicked it, hard. The poor thing was knocked ...
Read Full Post
I’m sick of my puppy, you take it
Outside my office, on the bulletin board, hung a distressing poster. A boy was selling his 2-year-old dog for Rs50,000. The ad stated that he hoped to find Spike a ‘good home’. I almost turned around and walked back into my office, when I knelt down to read the boy’s contact number, and punched the digits into my cell phone. I was going to call him. After a few rings, the boy picked up, his voice thick with sleep. I told him that selling off his pet dog to the highest bidder wouldn’t guarantee a good home. I suggested that he ...
Read Full Post
Be nice to bees…or else
This morning I was lucky enough to encounter some bumble bees buzzing around a stunning wild plant. I love the bumblebee’s cuddly appearance. These fuzzy bees are usually 3/4 to 1 1/2 inch long and have yellow and black bands on them (although this property changes in some species.) If you ever catch sight of a bumble bee hovering over a flower, feeding on its nectar and collecting pollen as it hovers from one flower to the other take some time to pause and notice the little creature that is quietly keeping this world green. Unlike honey bees, bumble bees are not ...
Read Full Post1-9 of 9
