Lock down in big cities left hundreds of caged cats, dogs and rabbits dead inside pet markets, Dawn reported.
Empress Market, Karachi: Very few animals were rescued when activists appealed the authorities to access closed shops. The cries of the locked pets could be heard from outside Empress Market. Together, the market housed more than 1,000 animals.
“When we got inside, the majority of them were dead, about 70 per cent. Their bodies were lying on the ground,” said Ayesha Chundrigar, who runs ACF Animal Rescue.
“It was so horrific, I can’t tell you.”
Starving and locked in cages with no light or ventilation, the survivors sat amongst the dead, trembling.
After the desperate rescue, Chundrigar has now convinced the Karachi authorities to allow pet shop owners and her team daily access to the animals.
In Lahore, animals were found under the same circumstances. The bodies of about 20 dogs were found dumped in a sewer near Tollinton Market, a hub for pet businesses which had closed leaving animals to starve.
Kiran Maheen was able to rescue more than two dozen dogs, rabbits and cats after convincing officials at the market to let her in, but a large number had already died.
“When the police opened up the shutters, a lot of animals were already lying dead inside, many had suffocated from a lack of air.”
