Peshawar Zoo moves SC to import elephants

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Veterinarians give Kaavan, the elephant at the Islamabad Zoo, a medical exam to determine the state of his health.

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The Supreme Court has told the federal government to file its reply on the import of a pair of elephants for the Peshawar Zoo.

The notices were issued on Nov 16, 2020 as a three-member bench of Supreme Court (SC), headed by Justice Mushir Alam, heard a petition filed by the Peshawar Zoo’s contractor Hanif Khan through his counsel Niyaz Wali.

The petitioner contended that they wanted to import a pair of elephants from Zimbabwe for the Peshawar zoo. He stated that a team of experts from Zimbabwe has already visited the zoo on the directions of the federal government which confirmed that the environment at the facility was favourable for the elephants. However, Wali contended that the federal government is unwilling to issue it with the requisite no-objection certificate (NOC).

Justice Alam observed that the applicant has filed a petition against the order of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), so how could he demand the import of the animals.

The court issued notices to all the respondents and adjourned further hearing in the case for two weeks.

Last year in December, the Peshawar Zoo had approached the PHC over the government’s reluctance to issue the NOC for the import of two elephants for the zoo.