Justice for Animals and Nature 

In a Monumental Judgment covering the lives of animals in captivity i.e., Zoo, the Islamabad High Court also addressed the imprisonment and suffering of Kaavan the Sri Lanka born Elephant in the Marghazar Zoo in Islamabad, Pakistan.  It is a 67 page comprehensive judgment. 

The Judgment was delivered by the Chief Justice of Pakistan Mr. ATHAR MINALLAH on May 21, 2020.

Date of Hearing: April 25, 2020   

A valuable document to be read, digested, and acted upon by all those who have love and care for living beings.

The Full Judgment is attached.

Justice for Animals and Nature 

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What the High Court said on the suffering undergone by Kaavan :

”  (a)”Kaavan”, the Asian Elephant.

“Kaavan” was gifted by the Government of Sri
Lanka in 1985 when he was one year old. His abode
was a small enclosure in the Zoo. For more than
three decades Kaavan has been kept chained in a
small enclosure described by the amicus and the
Wildlife Management Board as small, with
inappropriate conditions required to meet the
physiological, social and behavioural needs of this
extraordinary species of living beings that has been
gifted with ‘life’. It has been reported that the
‘mahouts’ have a negative relationship with
‘Kaavan’. Elephant food is sold to the visitors so
that the latter can feed ‘Kaavan’. The funds
generated are not recorded and thus go
unaccounted. The health condition of ‘Kaavan’ is

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W.P. No.1155/2019

also disturbing because it has been reported that
growth, curving and split in toe nails is an indication
of neglect and that it could cause serious
consequences. The dry moat is a risk to the
wellbeing of Kaavan. The diet given to Kaavan is
sub standard and inadequate to meet its needs.
This social living being has been kept in isolation
since his female companion Saheli’s death at the
age of twenty two in 2012. According to the report
submitted on behalf of the Wildlife Management
because of the conditions of captivity,
Kaavan exhibits severe stereotypical behaviour and
may have also developed neurological problems.
The management of the Zoo, because of shortage
of funds, cannot maintain the cleanliness and
hygiene of the enclosure and the small water pond.
The management cannot even afford the purchase
of limestone chalking for this purpose. The
distress, pain and suffering has been conspicuous to
visitors during the thirty six years of captivity
because of the constant bobbing and swaying of the
helpless being. The visitors treat this as acts of
entertainment by Kaavan but in reality it is an
expression of loneliness, distress and suffering by
the latter. It was reported in July last year that the
mahouts had allegedly stolen/misappropriated

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W.P. No.1155/2019

Kaavan‟s food and disciplinary proceedings were
initiated against them. In March this year ‘Kaavan’
was forced to spend the night in the moat in cold
weather because there was no one to rescue this
majestic non human being. It has been reported
that other animals from the wild such as wild Boars
intrude into the enclosure because the fencing is
dilapidated.

Asiatic Elephants have the attributes of a
nomadic living being. They need to be constantly on
the move and can cover more than ten kilometers a
day. By nature they need a social structure to
thrive and they exist in matriarchal herds. As will be
discussed later, an elephant has exceptional
abilities and one such member of the species,
Happy”, an inmate of the Bronx zoo in the United
States, has even passed the ‘mirror test’. By now
there is consensus that an Elephant has emotions
and some are similar to those of a human. There
also appears to be compelling evidence that zoo is
not an appropriate place for this species and zoos
across the globe are considering phasing them out.
They feel pain, distress, happiness as well as
sadness. The birth of a baby elephant is celebrated
while they cry and mourn the death of a member of

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W.P. No.1155/2019

the herd. Nature has created elephants to live,
survive and thrive in a particular habitat. The
destruction of its natural habitat at the hands of
the humans has brought this amazing species to a
brink of extinction. The needs of this innocent
creation cannot be met in the captive environment
of a zoo. Zoos do not serve any purpose except to
display their living inmates as exhibits to visitors.
Keeping in view the nature of the species and the
deploring conditions in the Zoo, Kaavan is indeed
suffering and is being treated in a manner that has
subjected him to unnecessary pain and suffering.
He is lonely and the extent of his suffering is

unimaginable. In 2018 the Corporation was
considering an offer from a charitable organization
to shift Kaavan to a sanctuary but for unspecified
reasons it could not materialize. Despite the
realization that the conditions of captivity had
subjected Kaavan to unnecessary pain and
suffering, no visible steps were taken to effectively
put an end to it. Even during the proceedings
before this Court, it has become obvious that an
end to the pain, agony and suffering of Kaavaan is
not in sight. For the aforementioned reasons,
therefore, this Court has no hesitation in declaring
that the treatment of Kaavan for more than three

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W.P. No.1155/2019

decades and his current status has subjected him to
unnecessary pain and suffering. The management
of the Zoo and the controlling authorities are
presumed to know that such treatment is likely to
cause loss and damage to the public because
Kaavan belongs to them. The life of Kaavan is at

risk and his wellbeing is undoubtedly compromised.”

Finding of the High Court

” Kaavan, the elephant, has been treated cruelly
by subjecting him to unimaginable pain and
suffering for the past three decades and his
continued captivity in the circumstances would
expose the authorities to criminal consequences
under the Act of 1890. The pain and suffering of
Kaavan must come to an end by relocating him
to an appropriate elephant sanctuary, in or
outside the country.”

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An Update 

AI Overview

Kaavan the elephant is now living at the Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary in Siem Reap Province, where he was relocated from Pakistan in November 2020. He now lives in a large, natural habitat with other elephants and has regained his natural behaviors. His rescue was the culmination of a long campaign led by organizations like FOUR PAWS and Free The Wild, which helped make his move possible.  

His life now

• Kaavan lives in a spacious enclosure with other rescued elephants, which has helped him overcome the loneliness he experienced in the Islamabad Zoo. 

His rescue

• After his companion passed away in 2012, Kaavan became known as the “loneliest elephant in the world”. 

·  He has access to proper veterinary care and natural habitats, allowing him to roam freely and engage in natural behaviors like cooling off in a muddy pool. 

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·  He has formed bonds with his new caretaker and mahout. 

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·  His rescue was documented in the Paramount film, Cher & the Loneliest Elephant. 

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·  A court ruling in Pakistan in 2020 led to the relocation of animals from the Islamabad Zoo, and Kaavan was the focus of an international effort. 

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·  He was transported to Cambodia in late 2020 after extensive planning and training to minimize stress during the flight. 

Justice for Animals and Nature

Sri Lanka