Pakistan Agreed To Free Elephant Kaavan After Campaign By US Singer Cher

A ray of hope has emerged for secluded Pakistani Elephant Kaavan as his plight sparked uproar in both Pakistan and Abroad.

The mentally tormented elephant was confined for 30 years, to the likes of a zoo in Islamabad. After enduring great suffering, a court in the country ordered his release, sending emotional sighs of relief around the globe.

The plight of Kaavan, a mentally tormented bull elephant confined to a small pen in an Islamabad Zoo for nearly three decades, has galvanized a rare animal rights campaign in Pakistan — Source: Dailymail

Both local and foreign animal rights organizations have worked hard over the years to generate attention for Kaavan’s release. In what is being termed as a ‘rare animal rights campaign,’– as many as 280,000 online users have signed an animal petition.

The news comes in the awakening of Kaavan’s plight, where the poor animal suffered great mental torture. Reports claim that the elephant displayed alarming aggressive behavior. Zookeepers were forced to beat him and deny him food.This in turn led to a series of small scale protests, held outside his zoo.

Pakistani caretaker Mohammad Jalal sits next to Kaavan the elephant at Marghazar Zoo in Islamabad — Source: Dailymail

Media officials claimed that the leader of the Pakistan Senate, Raza Rabbani, has ordered authorities towards the elephant’s transfer into a proper sanctuary.

Kaavan’s campaign for freedom has generated a lot of media attention around the world, including the likes of singing superstar Cher. The celebrity was part of the many animal rights supporters who ordered Kaavan’s transfer into a humane or better facility.

Kaavan, who was brought to the zoo from Sri Lanka in the mid-1980s, grew more unruly when the female elephant he was being kept with died in 2012 — Source: Dailymail

In general, male bull elephants like Kaavan are termed gregarious. When the males get separated from their herd, they resort to aggressive behavior.

Kaavan was brought into the Pakistani zoo facility during the 1980s from Sri Lanka. The lonely elephant became even more violent when his female counterpart, with which he was living, died in the year 2012.

Animal rights groups called on Pakistan to relocate Kaavan to an animal sanctuary. But the Capital Development Authority, the local agency in charge of managing the zoo, had refused — Source: Dailymail

Some activists go as far as stating that Kaavan was beaten with sticks while his legs were chained. He was placed into an enclosure that was way too small for his height, clearly shown by a mangled fan in the ceiling. His pen would reach up to 40 degrees centigrade during the summertime.

Today, Pakistan’s move to free the animal is being lauded by many nations around the world.