LAHORE – As many as ten tigers and eight lions will be sent to Pakistan asa gift by the United Arab Emirates next week, Adviser to Prime Minister onClimate Change, Malik Ameen Aslam said on Wednesday.
The adviser said 18 big cats are being gifted by UAE Prime Minister SheikhMohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum; the gifts would be kept at the Lahore Zoo.
A press release by the Ministry of Climate Change said the Lahore Zoo cameto know that Al Nakhi Wildlife Centre, Dubai was in possession of more than400 big cats and put up a request to the UAE premier to donate a few toPakistan.
“After correspondence with the said facility and fulfilling the legalrequirements, Lahore Zoo is going to receive the gift,” read the statement.
According to the ministry, the microchipped big cats were examined indetail, screened for different diseases in Dubai, following which they weredeemed fit for relocation to Pakistan.
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The gifts include three male and one female white tigers; four male and twofemale Bengal tigers; and four pairs of African lions all aged between oneto five years.
“Inbreeding is the major issue in big cats in Punjab because the animalsalready kept by the department have been crossbreeding with their closerelatives for years. Due to deleterious effects of inbreeding there aremore chances of stillbirths, genetic disorders, low immunity and tendencyto accept different diseases more easily among the captive stock of bigcats of the department,” the press release said.
