Lahore, 14 December
A rare sambar deer, which entered Pakistani territory from India, has died after being attacked by wild dogs and later abused by some local villagers, officials of the wildlife department of Punjab province said on Tuesday.
The deer, which is rare and listed as a vulnerable species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List since 2008, entered Pakistani territory from the Kasur border (about 60 km from Lahore) on Monday and was killed by a herd of wild dogs. got injured.
Later, it was caught by locals, who treated it badly, officials said, adding that the sambar deer died at the home of a landlord, who did not bother to provide it any medical care.
A video clip on social media shows that the injured deer was misbehaved with by some villagers while they tried to capture it.
Officials said that after getting information about the incident, they reached Havali Padianawali village of Kasur and seized the body.
“We have shifted the body to the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore for post-mortem,” he said.
The department has also submitted an application to the Punjab Police, seeking legal action against those who misbehaved with her and the landlord concerned. However, the police has not taken any action in this regard.
In 2018, an Indian sambar was caught from Narowal village bordering India and shifted to Lahore Zoo Safari.
Sambar is a large deer native to the Indian subcontinent, South China and Southeast Asia. PTI