Karachi-based animal-welfare advocate Ayesha Chundrigar, founder of the Ayesha Chundrigar Foundation (ACF), has called for a nationwide ban on pet markets in Pakistan. Her appeal was prompted by recent events at a market in Lahore’s Bhati Chowk area, where animals reportedly died during a demolition operation.
Chundrigar stated that animals in many pet-market environments are kept in cages, starved, and ill—treated more like commodities than sentient beings. She highlighted that many shop owners recognize this mistreatment but persist for profit. Furthermore, she pointed out that animals are often bought on impulse—as toys or entertainment for children—then discarded when interest fades, leading to abandonment or worse.
Her message is firm: the only way to “stop the suffering of animals once and for all” is to ban pet markets entirely. With this call, she is pushing for structural reform of the pet-trade industry—beyond policing isolated cases—and appealing to regulators, lawmakers and the public to recognise the scale of the problem.
The issue strikes at the core of how animals are treated in commerce in Pakistan, illuminating systemic weaknesses in welfare standards, licensing and oversight. The coming weeks may show whether policy-makers respond with legislation or regulation, and whether organisations like the ACF intensify efforts to rescue and rehabilitate affected animals.
