LAHORE – After the death of one ostrich in one of the main parks of the Defence Housing Authority (DHA), another ostrich’s life is in danger because it is being kept in unsuitable hygienic conditions, Pakistan Today has learnt. The ostrich is kept at a public park in GG block, DHA. The DHA administration not only seems careless about the ostrich, whose health is deteriorating, but has also failed to meet the requirements of keeping an ostrich. GG Block Park is considered one of the biggest and well-maintained parks of the DHA. The ostrich is kept in the middle of the park in a small cage for exhibition purposes.
The ostrich is caged in a small compound which contains a small cubical. The size of the ostrich’s cage and the room falls extremely small for the world’s biggest bird to reside in. Sources in the DHA office revealed that the cage was made for a pair. He said that the ostrich pair was shifted from Sheeba Park Y block to GG Block Park. “The cage had two ostriches at first but later the female ostrich died,” he said.
Keeping an ostrich requires ample area for the bird to roam around which is compulsory for the bird’s good health.
According to the Pakistan Ostrich Company, one ostrich required at least a 30 square foot compound. In GG park the cage in which the bird is being kept is about 12 feet long and 7 feet wide. Area is important for this bird as it could grow up to 7 feet in 16 to 18 months and could weigh over 300 pounds. The bird is known for its powerful legs and can run up to 40 mph. The ostrich at the GG Park is underweight and is extremely weak because the bird is underfed. Although an ostrich can survive more than 20 days without water, the water pot of the bird in GG Park is full of fungus.
The ostrich’s caretaker at GG Park while talking to Pakistan Today admitted that the bird’s health was deteriorating because it was not being fed properly. “The bird is weak because we don’t feed it up to its’ required diet,” said the caretaker. “This bird can eat as much as you give but we are ordered to give it only half a kg of feed every day,” he added. Dr Zeb, Lahore Zoo’s vet, said that ostriches required a habitat similar to camels. “The enclosure of an ostrich has to be large and open. An ostrich needs as much as space as an adult camel needs. An average adult ostrich needs 5 kg to 10 kg of bird feed every day,” she said.
Prior to this, an ostrich died in DHA owing to the carelessness of the DHA administration. The ostrich’s pair was kept in Sheeba Park Y Block, before it was shifted to GG Park, where one of them died. A DHA source told Pakistan Today that the ostrich died due to an injury that the bird had sustained during the shifting from one park to another. The source further revealed that the injury grew owing to the careless attitude of the authorities and the bird died.
Mahera Omer from Pakistan Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) said, “Firstly, we are against keeping wild birds in captivity. But if it is done, it should be made sure that the birds are being kept in an environment similar to their natural habitat. They should be given enough space to live and their feed should be looked after seriously,” she said. DHA PRO Tajjamul Hassan refused to comment on the issue.
