Animal cruelty in Pakistan is routine, ignored, and horrifyingly normalized – the latest Lahore case is just one example. Keep reading
A horrifying case of animal torture has shaken Lahore this week after a woman was arrested in DHA for killing and abusing animals inside her home. The incident came to light when disturbing videos were posted online, showing blood-soaked floors, injured rabbits and cats, and signs of repeated, calculated cruelty. One clip reportedly showed the woman smiling, surrounded by dead animals.
Activist Ayesha Bint e Rashid highlighted the case and forwarded it to JFK Animal Rescue and Shelter who then flagged the videos to ASP Shehrbano Naqvi, who led a police raid. What officers found was even worse than expected: drugs, blood, and dead animals all over the home. Surviving animals were rescued, including exotic birds and snakes – and a formal FIR was filed. The woman was later shifted to a mental health facility after police noted she had previously escaped from rehab.
Police are still investigating whether her actions were driven by substance abuse, mental illness, or something more sinister. But no matter the motive, the outcome remains the same: helpless animals were tortured to death – and it wasn’t her first time.
Maybe it wasn’t just one sick woman – maybe it’s just one sick mindset.
When Will We Admit That Animal Cruelty Is Normalised Here?
Let’s be honest: this isn’t just one sick woman. It’s a mirror. Because in Pakistan, animal cruelty isn’t rare — it’s everywhere. It just doesn’t always get filmed.
We see donkeys collapsing under overloaded carts, street dogs being poisoned by local authorities, and cats kicked around in alleys while people laugh. We’ve all seen it — and we scroll past. We call it “sad” or “disturbing” but don’t call it what it is: a collective failure. A failure of empathy, of education, of law.
People are shocked by this case, but they shouldn’t be. This is just the version that went viral.
Mental illness is real. Trauma is real. But are we ready to confront the line between illness and intentional harm? Being unwell does not erase the reality that living, breathing creatures were tortured for entertainment. If someone is sick, they need help – yes. But help does not mean a free pass. Accountability must exist alongside compassion. That’s the only way society moves forward.
We Rely On NGOs to Do What The State Won’t
It’s heartbreaking that we rely almost entirely on organizations like ACF Animal Rescue and JFK to clean up this mess. These shelters rescue animals from unimaginable situations every day. They feed thousands. They treat the wounded. They carry the emotional burden that society refuses to acknowledge. And they do it all without proper funding, recognition, or support.
ACF recently rescued a donkey found tied down for hours, covered in wounds – the owner claimed it wasn’t his. They’ve taken in abandoned puppies who flinch at every sound. They give names to the forgotten, the beaten, the starving – and give them second chances.
They shouldn’t be doing this alone.
Pakistan’s Laws on Animal Cruelty
In 2024, Rawalpindi opened its first Police Animal Rescue Center under the supervision of ASP Taxila, Kainat Azhar Khan, and initiated by IG Punjab Dr. Usman Anwar. The center provides urgent care to abused and injured animals, takes legal action against perpetrators, and partners with NGOs for treatment and rehabilitation. Citizens can report cruelty via a dedicated helpline (051-9293081), and recovered animals are made available for adoption. The initiative also invites volunteers, especially students, to take part in building a more compassionate society.
Pakistan’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (1890) remains outdated and poorly enforced. Despite being a member of the World Organisation for Animal Health, the country lacks strong penalties and modern legislation. The Rawalpindi center is a step forward, but meaningful reform requires updated laws and serious implementation to protect animals from abuse and neglect.
This Cannot Be A One-Off Reaction
Laws exist – barely. Enforcement is weak. Education is non-existent. And until we start teaching children that animals feel pain, that kindness is a responsibility, not a hobby – this will keep happening.
Animal cruelty often starts at home. Not with something headline-worthy, but with the “small stuff” we brush off – pulling a cat’s tail for fun, teasing a dog with food, yanking at a pet’s ears to make it squeal. These things become habits. They desensitize us. And we tell ourselves, “It’s just a joke.” But animals don’t laugh. They may not speak, but they feel. Every time.
In Pakistan, we talk so much about being a “moral” society. But morality means nothing if it doesn’t extend to the most voiceless. If animals are the lowest on our list of empathy, that says more about us than we’d like to admit.
Let this not be another trend we move past. Let this be the moment we finally say: enough.
Sources: Dawn, Punjab Police, Environment PK
