Do we have enough laws to protect wild, exotic animals?

A leopard, probably on an evening stroll, straAyAAed into a residAential area last month, forcing wildlife officials armed with tranquiAliAser darts to capture the animal in a frenzied efAAfAAAAAAort, lasting more than five hours.

In videos posAted to social meAAdia of the Feb 16 incident, the young male cat slipped betwAeAAen cars before knocking down a man and leaping over a garden fence. Before being captured, it ran amok in the streets of Islamabad's DHA neighbourhood and even injured four people.

The wild episode has once again turned the spotlight on urban areas encroaching on natural habitats, and the practice of keeping big cats as pets - wildlife officials initially assumed that the leopard was a pet and had escaped from captivity, but they later said it came from the wild as it showed no signs of being domesticated.

However, reports have earlier suggested that several people in upscale areas keep wild animals as pets, as some owners see big cats - such as leopards, lions and tigers - as symbols of wealth and power.

Other wild animals kept as pets in Pakistan include snakes, iguanas, pangolins and birds, some of whom are from other countries.

The DHA incident - that made some wildlife officials name the leopard 'Deeaitchay' - has also called into question the laws, or a lack of them, governing the captivity of wild and exotic animals.

Islamabad's leopard incident turns spotlight on shrinking natural habitats, big cats kept as pets, and related laws

The existing laws are sometimes unclear, not comprehensive, and differ from province to province. Wildlife officials and organisations have called for more comprehensive laws in this regard.

Islamabad and Punjab

The Islamabad Wildlife (ProAtecAtion, Preservation, ConserAvation and Management) OrdAiAnance 1979 (IWO) prohibits killing and capturing wild animals, restricts their hunting, transfer and import, and emAApowers authorised officers to search any place without a warrant if someone keeps a wild animal.

The ordinance also gives a long list of protected animals - those that 'shall not be hunted, killed or captured' - ranging from birds like pelicans, flamingos, geese, and swans to mammals like barking deer, otters, pangolins and leopards.

But the IWO apparently has no jurisdiction if someone wants to keep lions and tigers, which are not native and not described as wild under laws.

However, all provisions concerning wild and foreign animals have now been included in the draft...