Big cats of Instagram: Pakistani elite’s love of exotic wildlife

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KARACHI: Bilal Mansoor Khawaja beams as he runs his palms over the ivory coat of a white lion, one of thousands of exotic animals at his personal “zoo” in Karachi, where wildlife thrives for Pakistan’s elite. To

“These are… (some of) the rarest animals I own,” the 29-year-old entrepreneur boasts of his leashed tiger.

Pakistani laws facilitate the importation of exotic animals, but once inside the country, regulation is almost non-existent.

This has led to countless numbers of such creatures – especially big cats, seen as symbols of wealth and power – being imported or bred across Pakistan in recent years, leaving the wild wild. It is the horror of the helpless officials of Hayat.

Social media is awash with videos of wealthy Karachiites cruising with tigers in the front seats of luxury SUVs, while newspapers carry reports of arrests of residents brazenly walking and driving their big cats. Taking out for

Khawaja estimates that there are 300 lions within Karachi’s city limits alone, housed in gardens, in rooftop cages, and in farmhouses in the sun-drenched city of about 20 million — its grinding traffic. , is notorious for crumbling infrastructure, and shortages. Green space

Khawaja calls his handful of tigers and one tiger the “crown jewels” of a large collection of more than 4,000 animals he has amassed in recent years.

He insists that his collection — comprising about 800 different species — is not about status or prestige but simply an expression of his love for pets.

“We Pakistanis have a problem: where our heart is soft, it is very soft. Where it is hard, it is very hard”.

To look after his herd, he has more than 30 people working in shifts and four doctors on staff.

Khawaja admits that the whole operation costs a fortune, though he declines to give an estimate of how much he spent on his personal zoo.

But she claims the cost and minor injuries she’s suffered over the years at the hands of her prized pet are worth it.

“With every injury my love for these animals … grows,” he smiles.

His nine-acre property, which houses some of his animals, including zebras, flamingos and horses, is scattered in the middle of a dense megacity neighborhood.

Tiger breeding

Exotic animal dealer Aleem Pracha, who claims to be one of the three biggest importers of exotic animals in Karachi, says he delivered a white tiger to a client in 48 hours for 1.4 million rupees ($9,000). Can — and do. Completely legal.

Certificates from countries of origin are provided along with permits from the authorities for any animal brought into Pakistan as per the International Convention on Conservation of Endangered Species.

But Pracha says there is also a network of breeders across Pakistan who can provide tigers at a moment’s notice, including at least 30 in Karachi.

He explains, “Tiger farming is going very well in Karachi.

And while indigenous species are strictly protected in Pakistan, the same protection is not afforded to imported animals.

The government has guidelines on the type of enclosures and treatment of big cats and other exotic species.

“The law is silent” on breeding, says Javed Mehr, head of Sindh’s wildlife department.

Uzma Khan, technical adviser to the World Wildlife Fund, says there is no authority to oversee government-run zoos, which are notoriously neglected, let alone the private sector.

“There are many private breeders and they are very shady,” Khan added.

‘The law is silent’

Meanwhile, owners like Khawaja may have the means and passion to provide a hearty diet for their animals, but others lack it.

Asma Ghiwala, a veterinarian in Karachi, says calcium deficiency is common in tigers at her clinic, where she says she has treated 100 to 150 big cats over the years.

“Bones become extremely brittle,” she explains.

“And even if they jump down like a foot, they’re going to injure some bone and then the animal takes a long time to recover.”

But both Pracha and Khawaja reject claims that they are doing any harm by taking exotic species out of their natural habitat and raising them in Pakistan.

“A lot of animals, either they are extinct or they are on the verge of extinction,” Khawaja argued, adding: “I don’t want future generations to not see these animals.”

But conservationists like Khan at WWF reject such arguments.

She explains: “An animal in captivity is not the same as in the wild.

“What’s the point of having an animal that isn’t hunting, that isn’t exhibiting its natural behavior in a cage?”