Overview: Pakistan, home to 220+ million people, faces animal welfare challenges rooted in poverty, cultural traditions, inadequate legislation, and the intersection of rapid urbanization with traditional animal use. Working animals, stray animals, livestock, and wildlife all face significant welfare issues. Yet a growing welfare consciousness — driven by urban educated youth, international NGOs, and Islamic welfare teachings — offers genuine grounds for optimism.
1890
Year of Pakistan's main cruelty law (British era)
5M+
Working equines in Pakistan
400k+
Stray dogs in Karachi (estimate)
Legal Framework
Colonial-Era Legislation
Pakistan's primary animal welfare law is the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1890 — unchanged from British colonial rule. Penalties are negligible (fines of 50 rupees for first offenses) and enforcement is virtually nonexistent.
Provincial Reform Efforts
Given Pakistan's federal structure, animal welfare falls partly under provincial jurisdiction. Some progress at provincial level:
- Sindh Animal Welfare Act (2020) — significantly updated, stronger penalties, covers more animal categories
- Punjab working toward updated legislation
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa courts have applied cruelty provisions more actively in recent years
Islamic Framework for Animal Welfare
Islamic teachings contain explicit animal welfare provisions that advocates use to build support:
- Hadith (prophetic traditions) explicitly prohibit cruelty to animals and mandate kind treatment
- The Prophet Muhammad's teachings on animal welfare are detailed and specific
- Scholars have issued fatwas supporting animal welfare reform framed within Islamic ethics
- This framework offers powerful cultural legitimacy for welfare advocacy in Pakistan
Working Animals
Pakistan has one of the world's largest working equine populations, with over 5 million horses, donkeys, and mules working in transport and agriculture.
Welfare Challenges
- Overloading — heavily loaded carts on steep urban gradients cause extreme exertion
- Harness wounds — ill-fitting and improvised equipment causes chronic sores
- Lack of veterinary access — treatment is unaffordable for most owners
- Water deprivation during long work shifts in Pakistan's extreme summer heat
- Eye infections and ophthalmic disease from dust and flies
Brooke Pakistan
Brooke has operated in Pakistan since 1999, providing mobile veterinary clinics, owner training, and welfare advocacy. Their programs in Lahore, Faisalabad, and rural Punjab have improved welfare for hundreds of thousands of working animals. The approach links animal welfare to owner livelihoods — healthier animals work longer and earn more, making welfare improvements economically rational.
Stray Animals
Urban Stray Dog Crisis
Pakistan's major cities — Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad — have large stray dog populations. Government responses have historically involved mass poisoning and shooting campaigns:
- Periodic mass poisoning causes prolonged, painful deaths
- Culling programs have no demonstrated long-term effectiveness on population
- Pakistan has significant human rabies burden — WHO advocates vaccination over culling
- Shot or poisoned dogs that are not immediately killed may suffer for extended periods
Emerging Alternatives
- Karachi metropolitan pilot TNR program launched 2021 — early results encouraging
- WHO-Pakistan collaboration on dog rabies vaccination as primary public health tool
- NGOs including ACF Pakistan and Ayesha Chundrigar Foundation (ACF) running rescue and TNR operations
Animal Fighting Traditions
Cockfighting and Dog Fighting
Animal fighting — particularly cockfighting (murghbazi) and occasionally dog fighting — remains practiced in Pakistan despite being illegal under the 1890 Act:
- Cockfighting widespread in rural Punjab, Sindh, and KPK
- Birds equipped with metal spurs causing severe injuries and death
- Associated with gambling and organized crime in some areas
- Enforcement is rare and penalties minimal when applied
Bull Racing
Traditional bull racing (bail gaari) is practiced in rural Sindh and Punjab. Reformers advocate for animal welfare standards and transition toward less harmful forms of cultural celebration.
Livestock Welfare
Livestock farming — cattle, buffalo, goats, sheep, camels — is central to Pakistan's rural economy. Key welfare issues:
- Tethering of cattle and buffalo in confined conditions without adequate movement
- Disease burden from inadequate veterinary infrastructure
- Long-distance cattle transport in overcrowded vehicles to urban slaughterhouses
- Eid Al-Adha slaughter — millions of animals slaughtered in compressed period with variable welfare standards
- Growing commercial poultry sector with minimal welfare oversight
The Animal Welfare Movement
Growing Civil Society
- Ayesha Chundrigar Foundation (ACF): Pakistan's largest animal rescue organization — thousands of rescues, public awareness campaigns with massive social media following
- Pakistan Animal Welfare Society (PAWS): Advocacy and rescue in Lahore
- Edhi Foundation: Includes animal welfare within its broader humanitarian mandate
- ACF's social media reach exceeds 1 million followers — making them one of South Asia's most influential welfare voices
Recommendations
- Update federal Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act with meaningful penalties
- Scale Brooke's working animal welfare model to more cities and rural districts
- Replace stray dog culling with WHO-recommended TNR + vaccination
- Enforce existing cockfighting prohibitions with appropriate resources
- Develop humane slaughter training program accessible to rural slaughtermen
- Frame all welfare reform within Islamic ethics for maximum cultural uptake