The general mistreatment of animals by the Pakistani society is no secret. Hence, it is no surprise that the concept of keeping pets is alien to a lot of people in the country.
A case recently come forward, where Askari Housing Society, banned keeping pets in homes
The attendees of the meeting decided that they are going to ask residents to “dispose off” their pets
The poor choice of words itself is a clear sign of how negligent people are when it comes to animal rights. The cluelessness about the fact that these animals might not be human beings but deserve to be treated well.
Here is another simpler breakdown. The word pet itself means an animal that one adopts for companionship. Now companionship is not a concept alien to the population. How do you dispose off someone you have adopted for companionship?
People have taken to multiple social media platforms to express their angst at the decision.
Oscar winning film-maker, Sharmeen Obaid, also highlighted how inhumane the decision was
How do you “depose” of pets? Who makes these heartless inhumane decisions? #lahore #askarihousing pic.twitter.com/ag0mkCvtM0
— Sharmeen Obaid (@sharmeenochinoy) January 24, 2018
When someone asked her how the decision was inhumane, she aptly responded by saying
how it is inhuman decision? inhumanity comes when ppl dont take care of their pets.. n they destroy the assets of others or injure the humans. this is called inhumanity. n dispose means to sell simply n laws r laws.
— RaiNauman (@RaiNauman) January 24, 2018
There are no laws in pakistan that say you can’t keep pets! These are rules made by men who have little understanding of pets and animals in general clearly! https://t.co/m2ylEuohzy
— Sharmeen Obaid (@sharmeenochinoy) January 24, 2018
Those against the decision have started a petition address to Askari Housing Society and GHQ to end the ban on pets
They believe that they are invading privacies of homes by asking them to “dispose off” their pets. They are banning pets altogether instead asking residents to not adopt dangerous animals. And lastly, and mostly importantly, it is inhumane to separate someone from their pets.
Please sign this petition to end ban on pets in Askari societies in Lahore.https://t.co/RBmBy3ql05#EndBanOnPets #askarihousing
— Shmyla Khan (@shmyla) January 24, 2018
Such blanket bans highlight that residents have no say in the process. At the same time, it is also difficult to digest that people do not understand the relationship between pets and people who adopt them. The fact that we only see animals as burden is something we need to reconsider and understand their rights as well.