The government has banned testing and surgeries on live animals at veterinary schools and industrial complexes after grisly videos of dogs being tortured alive at a veterinary caused an outrage. However, the new order will initially be implemented in Islamabad only.
Animal rights activists widely called out the barbaric practice of animal torture and experimentation at Pir Mehr Ali Shah (PMAS) Arid Agriculture University in Rawalpindi, exposed through videos and tweets earlier this month.
Taking serious notice of the animal abuse, the government announced that the perpetrators of animal cruelty will be fined and jailed, in what Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Strategic Reforms Unit Head Salman Sufi called an effort to ensure animal welfare, Arab News reported.
The offenders will be slapped a fine of Rs5,000 to Rs15,000 along with imprisonment and the incidents of animal cruelty can be reported through a helpline, said Sufi.
“Live testing of animals in vet colleges and industrial complexes is banned from today in Islamabad Capital Territory,” he announced during a news conference on Thursday.
He said that an official notification has been issued for this.
Sufi further stated that the amendments for a national-level law have been formulated and will be tabled in the National Assembly under a bill in the next session.
According to Sufi, the bill will be “Pakistan’s first comprehensive animal welfare law,” which will be encouraged to be enforced across the country later.
