By Iffrah Akhtar- Despite the fact that people have been protesting immensely on national as well as international level, there’s been thousands of people filing petitions against the shackling of Kaavan, yet there hasn’t been a single step taken by the CDA to free Kaavan from this atrocious cruelty. This alluring creature that is highly intelligent as well as a sentient being has been in captivity for years. It is heart wrenching to see Kaavan spending his life in such miserable conditions where he is not even able to make use of his four legs which by nature have been created for him to walk around yet he is not given any control of them. Whenever, I have spent time with Kaavan, on a closer look I can actually feel the pain he’s going through. Can we imagine ourselves being chained up for more than 28years without being able to move an inch, to have no one of our own, no one to provide us with proper care, no one to make us feel wanted or loved? Only if we were able to imagine ourselves in such despairing situation would we know how traumatized Kaavan must be.
Unfortunately, insensitivity has permeated in such a way and to such an extent into the authorities of our country that they seem to have lost the ability to feel the agony of the hapless creature. Regardless of not having any means to speak out his feelings, Kaavan still tries to communicate his distress as he is often seen swaying his head side to side which is a certain sign of deeply disturbed individual. This type of a repetitive behavior is seen in animals that are confined to same place and are unable to move on their own such as the poor Kaavan.
The global pressure that was made through several emails, messages posted on social media and calls in regard to free Kaavan from captivity had resulted in CDA requiring the zoo to remove the chain although this seemed like a step taken towards the betterment of Kaavan yet it only lasted for a few days and the poor soul was back in chains once again.
Every time I see this poor soul in his barren, concrete enclosure with chains around his feet makes my heart bleed out of sorrow and makes me wonder what right do us humans have to dictate and control an animal’s life in such a cruel way? Elephants live up to seventy years in their habitat and have a complex social bond with other elephants around them capable of covering 30 miles a day. Kaavan on the other hand is depleted from any of such activities and has no single aspect of freedom.
It is above time the authorities understand how badly Kaavan needs the freedom, he is the last beautiful elephant we have and neglect and gangrene will soon take his life. CDA had initially posted a statement claiming they will release the elephant, the very next day it turned out to be that the statements were deleted and the video of Kaavan still being chained was released over the social media.
In his 28 years of captivity, Kaavan has been used to make a great deal of money, whereas elephants as zoo exhibits is a morally wrong thing to be done, he rather deserves to be released into a sanctuary where he is able to heal physically as well as mentally. Moreover, Pakistan does not need any more negative publicity since the inhumane treatment of Kaavan is now being observed all around the world. There is a great need for the CDA to learn from the inspiring story of an elephant Anne who was mistreated and chained for hours in the same enclosure, as soon as these cruel conditions were brought forward by the animal activists; Anne was immediately released into a safari park where she was able to enjoy the natural environment. Thus, CDA should show mercy, compassion and release this elephant to a sanctuary.
