HUMANS may be the most sentient creatures on earth, but it is their duty as custodians of the planet to recognise that other species are also sentient and should be cared for and protected. Unfortunately, cruelty towards animals is endemic in Pakistan, with horrific stories of abuse reported frequently in social and mainstream media.

On Eidul Azha, around 7.5 million animals are expected to be sacrificed in the country — a huge number for mass slaughter in a limited time frame, with implications for hygiene, health, biosafety, waste management, environmental issues and transportation. Each year, we see cows, buffaloes, goats, sheep and camels being moved from one place to another, pushed along busy roads with sticks, or crammed into trucks, wagons and even rickshaws to and from animal markets.

In these dirty, overcrowded vehicles, there is little space for the animals to move: they are thrown at each other, sometimes breaking their limbs, at others collapsing with heat and dehydration. They are pushed up onto trucks and forced to jump down from these at the end of the journey. They are tied to vehicle frames by ropes that are too small for them, forcing them to hold up their necks in a painful position, sometimes even getting........

© Dawn