Animals at Tolington Market – buy them before they die

In this large rectangular corridor – the Tollignton market – dappled with animal feces and blood pools, there are several things happening at the same time. Beef, mutton and chicken are being slaughtered while grocery, plasticware, kitchen utensils, live animals among other sellable items are being sold, as men, women and children come and go.
There is a stench of putrid decay in the air and it is almost impossible to even pass through this market, let alone amble for some time there. Cats and dogs, birds and pheasants (both eatable and displayable) are kept in the animal section, which is a dark corridor, more or less isolated from the main market. These pets are stuffed ruthlessly in small and congested cages and are often subjected to starvation and to discomfort and to negligence.
Unfortunately, there is nothing being done to regulate these shop owners who take the liberty to treat these animals as they wish. A dog, almost adult size, impatiently paces back and forth and howls every now and then. Its cage is small. It can only take one step before it already reaches the other end. In yet another cage, a two-month-old puppy is almost dead. Its head is resting on the wall of its cage, its eyes are glazed and its gaze lowered. Anyone who knows slightly about animals would sense that it is about to die soon. However, the shopkeeper prods him brutally and shakes him to show that he is alive.
“He is moving, how can he be dead?,” he challenges, as the puppy glides back down the cage wall. He does not move an inch after that. About five or six longhaired cats are stuffed into one cage, raising their body temperatures in the already hot weather. Technically speaking these cats should have had their summer ‘hair cut’ so their body temperature does not rise too high. But the sellers of these animals are not only insensitive to animal rights and their needs, they are also unaware of how to keep them.
Only a few animals seem to be in the right spirit, but these are newly brought in. What will happen to them a few weeks later, no prizes for guessing! The treatment or mistreatment of animals is not just the concern of animal rights organizations; it is also a violation of a constitutional law. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act was passed first by the British in 1890; penalties and rules were stated here. Cruelty to animals, especially with regard to violence, misery, suffering, and ill health would result in penalties to animal owners or keepers.
However, this law is also outdated. Section 3(e) creates an offence of abandonment and Section 5 says that any person who kills an animal in an unnecessarily cruel manner shall be punished with a fine that may extend to Rs 200 and/or imprisonment of 6 months maximum. Even this law however has never once been implemented. Another trend is that the government is more concerned about dairy production, poultry, beef, and meat giving animals.
Therefore, its attention is focused only on providing consultancy, medications and some incentives for these animal breeding industries. Animal hospitals are not in the greatest of working conditions either. Pets therefore are rarely brought to these hospitals. There are vet clinics for pets where several owners take their dogs and cats for treatment or regular check ups, but these are few and expensive. The government has no policy for pet care.
The animals being sold at Tolington are not too cheap either. One Siamese cat costs around Rs 2,500, a Persian cat costs Rs 2,000, and a Himalayan cat costs between Rs 6,000 to Rs 7000. In this money, these animals should come with a health certificate, and a medical checkup. “We do medical checkups before we get these animals,” says Ali Akbar, whose shop has somewhat better kept animals. But these too are not in the best of shapes.
An official at the WWF Pakistan says that there is certainly no implementation of this law by the government. “You see we are only a liaison organization,” the official says. “We cannot raid upon places even if they are violating the law in any way. But what we can do is that if a number of citizens come and complain to us about the same problem, we can file a petition in court about the matter. It is however true and a very well known issue that Tolington Market is keeping pet animals in worst of conditions.”