In a meeting with Mayor Murtaza Wahab on Wednesday, local and international experts decided there would be no timetable for moving the African elephant Madhubala from the Karachi Zoo to Safari Park, saving her from the risk of early death from being kept in isolation and reuniting her with her sisters who are already housed there.
Experts from the World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan, Four Paws, an international group dedicated to animal welfare, and other organizations attended the conference.
Visiting specialists were told by Mayor Wahab that the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), which manages the zoos and Safari Park, did not have the money to shift the elephant.
However, if there are interested parties prepared to give financial aid and technical experience in putting up the facility and moving Madhubala there, he backed the notion of an elephant sanctuary at Safari Park.
Experts warn that the elephant's life is in danger since he is kept in isolation and that he has to be rescued right away.
He, however, did not agree with the suggestion of moving elephants to a species-appropriate foreign sanctuary, as it would give a bad name to the country.
The mayor said the KMC will continue to play a leadership role and rejected the proposal of creating a wildlife board made up of pertinent specialists to oversee the welfare of animals at the zoo and the Safari Park.
Under the direction of the Sindh High Court, the international organization has been aiding the regional zoo and safari officials in the care of elephants for the past several years.
It now intends to help the local administration bring back Madhubala, a zoo elephant, and her two other family members who are presently residing at Safari Park. Since the passing of her partner, Noor Jehan, more than three months ago, the poor animal has been kept in solitary confinement and has been suffering from extreme emotional trauma.