The Sindh High Court has ordered the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and Karachi Zoo administration to shift Rano from her 25-foot wide Victorian ‘grotto’ pit to another open cage, reportedly 500 times bigger than her current enclosure.

According to a report in Samaa News, the court ordered authorities to immediately shift the 20-year-old Syrian brown bear, who has been living a solitary life for the last three years. The instructions, recommended by a five-member team formed to evaluate the condition of the bear and the zoo, were passed on an interim basis until a final decision is taken.

It has been reported that the new cage is spread over 2,100 square feet and is on ground level, unlike her previous enclosure which was an underground pit. However, it too requires some improvisations.

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Rano’s plight had sparked nationwide protests in the summer following which 38 people signed a petition filed in the Sindh High Court by Barrister Mohsin Shahwani on October 1, 2020. In the application, the petitioners had highlighted the animal’s plight and had alleged that the bear was not being well taken care of and was not being fed on time. The petition has demanded Rano be sent back to Skardu so that she can be among her own.

Read more – Celebrities express outrage over condition of brown bear in Karachi Zoo

In the successive hearing on October 5, the court had instructed KMC to install an air-cooler inside Rano’s enclosure to provide her some relief. It also ordered authorities to present the zoo’s budget and details of details, expressing anger over the fact that there was only one doctor for all animals at the zoo.

According to animal experts, Rano is suffering from emotional and psychological distress which is why she is often seen panting heavily and roaming in circles. The Society for the Protection of Animal Rights (SPAR) is hopeful that Rano, in her new temporary cage, is able to move around easily, explore and play with items of an enrichment program, be able to see zoo activities, birds, trees and other animals and have a less lonely, stressed life.

Islamabad zoo shuts down

Meanwhile, Islamabad’s Marghazar Zoo — which drew international condemnation for its treatment of lonely elephant Kaavan — shut down on December 16 after its final occupants Babloo and Suzie were relocated to a sanctuary inJordan.

As per details, the Himalayan brown bears suffer from psychological problems due to living in a substandard enclosure, with the female Suzie undergoing major surgery in the summer after a tumour was removed from her chest. Local vets were unable to stitch up seven inches open cut in the centre of her chest and she developed an infection. Four Paws vets, who arrived in August, operated on Suzie again and cleaned the infected wound. This was also the reason why sanctuaries within Pakistan refused to take them in.

“She is now recovering and healthy. Both bears are doing well physically now that we have put them on a better nutritional diet of fruits and vegetables. Suzie had diarrhoea all the time because she was mostly fed milk,” a spokesperson for Four Paws, Marion Lombard had told local media outlets.

Several celebrities including Hamza Ali Abbasi and Mehwish Hayat have called for zoos across the country to be shut down given the mistreatment of animals there.