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KARACHI: Wildlife authorities in Pakistan’s Sindh province said on Thursday they had begun preparations to relocate a brown bear, Rano, from the Karachi Zoo to a sanctuary near Islamabad, following a court order that activists see as a victory for animal welfare amid incidents of cruelty toward captive wildlife.

The Sindh High Court this week directed the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), which manages the zoo, alongside the provincial Wildlife Department to move Rano, who has lived alone for years in the city’s sweltering heat, to a bear sanctuary operated by the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board. The court ordered the transfer within two days under the supervision of Sindh Wildlife Conservator Javed Ahmed Mahar.

Rano, a Himalayan brown bear native to the cold alpine regions of northern Pakistan, has spent over two decades in captivity and in a tropical region, hundreds of miles from her natural habitat.

“To follow the court directives, we have started the process [to move the animal],” Mahar told Arab News. “After securing the execution order and notification for the oversight committee, we will take steps to relocate Rano.”

He acknowledged that Karachi’s climate and environment “are simply not suitable for a bear that belongs to the mountains.”

A Sindh Wildlife Department report said Rano showed signs of psychological and physical distress caused by heat, isolation and lack of stimulation. Officials also said they observed symptoms of zoochosis, a stress-induced repetitive behavior common in animals kept in poor conditions.

“She has shown signs of pacing, self-licking and rocking — indicators of chronic stress,” the report noted, adding that bears like Rano suffer “physiological stress, compromised immunity and behavioral disorders” when kept outside their natural range.

According to documents reviewed by Arab News, Rano will be moved in a specially designed IATA Type-82 transport crate with ventilation, straw bedding and temperature control. Pakistan International Airlines or the Pakistan Air Force may assist with the transfer. The bear will undergo veterinary checks before departure and spend 14 days in quarantine after arrival.

Officials said that once Rano stabilizes at the Islamabad sanctuary, the Sindh government has recommended she be moved to Gilgit-Baltistan, closer to her native Himalayan environment.

Animal rights campaigners welcomed the court’s decision, calling it a crucial step toward reforming Pakistan’s troubled zoo system, long criticized for neglect and mismanagement.

Rights activist and lawyer Jibran Nasir, one of the counsels for the petitioner, said the ruling reflected growing public awareness and pressure for humane treatment of wildlife.

“We hope that Rano’s ordeal will finally come to an end,” Nasir told Arab News. “While we are grateful to the court for its order, we are equally thankful to the media for highlighting the plight of animals in captivity. We now hope Rano will soon find herself in a place where she can live in comfort and dignity.”

Pakistan’s record on animal welfare has drawn international concern.

In 2020, the case of Kaavan, dubbed the “world’s loneliest elephant,” made global headlines and led to his relocation from Islamabad Zoo to a sanctuary in Cambodia.

Since then, courts have received multiple petitions demanding better treatment for captive animals, including lions and bears. The Karachi Zoo’s elephants have also recently remained in the headlines for the poor health and death of one of them, Noor Jehan.

Veteran journalist and animal rights activist Quatrina Hosain said Rano’s case exposed the country’s outdated approach to wildlife care.

“I’m immensely grateful to the Sindh High Court for giving the long-suffering Rano a judicial miracle,” she told Arab News. “But will we always need courts to force zoo administrators to do the right thing?“

“We must stop this archaic practice of zoo prisons and instead build sanctuaries or send suffering animals to sanctuaries abroad,” she added.

Hosain maintained keeping animals in poor conditions “is neither educational nor ethical.”

“Instead, we condition our children to accept cruelty,” she said.