Daily Times

District Dadu, Sindh, is one of the most backward areas, established in 1929. Geographically, the area is divided into three parts, including mountainous, deserts/arid and plain fields. The weather condition of the district is extreme cold in and extremely hot in summer. The temperature in summers is averagely recorded between 40 and 56 Celsius. Moreover, the western part of the district, called Kachho, was a famous jungle. But due to extensive chopping of trees, it has gone arid now.

The border of the district connects Sindh and Balochistan via mountains of Kirthar range. Various small villages, consisting of 20 to 30 households, lie on both District Dadu/Sindh side and Balochistan side of the border. The living standards in these smaller villages are quite low, without the availability of any basic facility like schools and hospitals. There is a zero literacy rate in all villages. The major share of their livelihood comes from leaves of a mountain wild-plant, locally called Peesh, which is a raw material, helping in the production of Waan (rope), widely used for the weaving of cots across Sindh and Balochistan.

Residents from Sindh and Balochistan bring large quantities of Peesh, laden on donkeys, to sell in the nearest market called Wahi Pandhi. Due to the unavailability of roads, the travel takes weeks. They travel in groups. Juma Birohi, who travels in a caravan with 11 donkeys, said, “We have no alternative mode of transportation, we take food ration and water in Khalies (a sack-like drinking water storage made from rawhide skin of goats or sheep) to be used during our 14 days’ travel by foot.”

“As water is unavailable for miles, we use water from Khalies, but our animals (donkeys and camels) have to take the burden for long distances without fodder and water. What can we do for them? We have no solution for that issue,” he added.

Another person from the group, Sher, said, “We people come from Jamburu, Hab, Gaaj, Lak Rohail, and Jarendar Balochistan and having sold our Peesh, we buy ration from Wahi Pandhi and return with ration-laden donkeys. These 10 to15 days-long journeys are in our routine for years.”

Responding to a question, he went on, saying that wounds are common with beasts of burden, especially donkeys. One cannot find any single domesticated donkey without wounds because the saddle itself causes wounds and the traditional remedy of such wounds is the sprinkling of dust on wounds, widely used in our community.

The plight of donkeys during tedious mountainous journeys is beyond thinking. They load 30 to 40 kilogrammes on the back of each donkey tied with hard ropes to avoid the material falling off. It is extremely tough for donkeys to breathe while climbing high altitude and steep rough routes with heavy loads, Thus, many donkeys lose their lives. To get rid of suffocation, donkeys owners brutally give sharp cuts to their nostrils from the front with blade cutters/knives to make them wide open. It is commonly seen that once the wounds become ulcerated, donkey owners never try to consult with veterinaries.

In an interview, Deputy Director (Livestock) Dr Abdullah Jamali said, “Donkeys are considered strong animals and used to fetch water and wood; grind flour and deliver food and non-food items. Unfortunately, due to a lack of awareness, they are never treated like other animals (cow, sheep, buffaloes).”3

In Pakistan, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1890 was amended in January 2018; increasing the fines and punishments manifold for offenders but without a holistic approach towards animal welfare

“It is just because of the concept of Halal and Haram in our society that people feel shame in bringing donkeys to hospitals. If their animal is ill, they prefer buying other donkeys instead of curing the existing one due to its availability on cheaper rates in the market,” he maintained.

Farooque Ali Babar, Field Officer of Hand in Hand with Educated and People (HHELP), a youth-led non-profit organisation, working in District Dadu on human and animal rights, said, “According to a survey there are 15098 donkeys, 1294 horses and 2105 camels in district Dadu that are being used for hard and heavy work but camels and horses are treated well as compared to donkeys.”

“Owners of the donkeys don’t provide proper fodder and water to their animals nor do they take care of their wounds. The atrocity is at its peak. People deliberately poke animals where they are wounded to cover distance quickly, which is a quite shameful act.”

A local trader, Sarang Laghari from Wahi Pandhi, said: “People from Sindh and Balochistan bring Peesh from their areas twice a month and donkeys are widely used in mountains as means of transportation but during travel they never keep fodder or water for their animals with them in case they found grass or water somewhere in mountains they let them eat and drink otherwise helpless animals have to strive.”

Every Friday, traders bring their donkeys for sale at a local mandi in Wahi Pandhi near Johi where the worth of a healthy and young male donkey starts from Rs 1000 to 20,000. There is a zero demand for the female donkeys at the mandi. While answering to a question, a donkey owner responded, “We don’t know what animal rights are. We are doing the same as our ancestors did neither our standard of living nor source of income has changed for years.”

“God has created donkeys to support human beings. Animals are happy to carry heavy weights over their backs. Donkeys are the cheapest source of commutes without expenses. We use them for a myriad of works to fulfil our routine needs,” he went on.

In Pakistan, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1890 was amended in January 2018; increasing the fines and punishments manifold for offenders but without a holistic approach towards animal welfare. Not a single case has yet been registered to control this cruelty against equines in nearby police stations. There is only one veterinary hospital in Taluka Johi. Many animals die prematurely of sickness, malnourishment, accidents, neglect and torture. The notion of donkeys owners is “Animals are our personal property, thus, no one has a right to interfere or sermon us on treating donkeys with care.”

They indulge in violations of Animal Rights Act and are oblivious of the fact that they have been committing both cruelty and crime for years!

Legislation and amendments in law are commendable first steps but raising awareness on animal rights, particularly equines’ rights and welfare, is the need of the hour. The livestock department, organisations working for animals rights as well as law enforcement agencies have to play an active role to control the sheer violation of the act by raising awareness and enforcing the law. Donkeys have always been the supporters of human beings and should be treated like other Halal animals.

The writer is a human and animal rights defender