Pakistan: Ailing elephant may be euthanised

Animal experts will decide in coming days whether an ailing elephant at a zoo in Pakistan needs to be euthanised after it collapsed in its pen last week and has since failed to stand up, officials said.

The 17-year-old African elephant underwent emergency treatment for a tumour in Karachi on April 5, but collapsed days later and has since lain stricken on its side.

The pitiful plight of Noor Jehan is being shared by animal rights activists on social media in Pakistan and abroad, prompting calls for the zoo to be shut down.

Pakistan’s zoos are frequently accused of disregarding animal welfare, and in 2020 a court ordered the only facility in the country’s capital to close because of its decrepit state.

Noor Jehan’s fate now lies with a committee waiting for the arrival of Amir Khalil, the Austria-based chief vet of animal charity Four Paws International.

Khalil, who led the team that treated Noor Jehan for the tumour, told AFP he wanted to have “one last try” at helping the pachyderm recover.

“We will fight till the last for her recovery, and the rest is in the hands of Allah,” said Kanwar Ayub, the director of Karachi Zoo.

“We are diligently following Four Paws instructions for Noor Jehan’s treatment.”

Kavaan was later airlifted to retirement in Cambodia in a project spearheaded by US popstar and actor Cher, and carried out by Four Paws.