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Photos: Lockdown underway, animals left to die in Pakistan’s pet markets

Abandoned when Pakistan's largest cities went into lockdown, hundreds of caged cats, dogs and rabbits have been found dead inside pet markets, hurriedly shuttered as the coronavirus spread. As the pandemic grew, Pakistan's major cities were plunged into lockdown, forcing many shops to close. Only stalls selling essential goods such as food and medicine were allowed to continue operating. It left pet shop owners blocked from their businesses, some resorting to sneaking in at night to feed the animals.

Updated on: Apr 09, 2020 11:53 AM IST

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Resident Ali Khurshid seen playing with stray dogs before feeding them on a street near Clifton beach during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Karachi. Pakistan entered a two-week lockdown on March 23, later extended to April 14. (Asif Hassan / AFP)

Updated on Apr 09, 2020 11:53 AM

Resident Ali Khurshid seen playing with stray dogs before feeding them on a street near Clifton beach during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Karachi. Pakistan entered a two-week lockdown on March 23, later extended to April 14. (Asif Hassan / AFP)

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Cats housed in cages outside a closed shop during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown, in Karachi. Animals around the corner from Karachi’s sprawling Empress Market were rescued only after activists appealed to the authorities for access. (Asif Hassan / AFP)

Updated on Apr 09, 2020 11:53 AM

Cats housed in cages outside a closed shop during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown, in Karachi. Animals around the corner from Karachi’s sprawling Empress Market were rescued only after activists appealed to the authorities for access. (Asif Hassan / AFP)

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An official of ACF animal rescue examines a rescued cat in Karachi. Two weeks into the shutdown, Ayesha Chundrigar, who runs ACF Animal Rescue, could hear the cries of the pets from outside the shops, which together housed up to 1,000 animals. “When we got inside, the majority of them were dead, about 70%. Their bodies were lying on the ground,” she told AFP. (ACF Animal Rescue / AFP)

Updated on Apr 09, 2020 11:53 AM

An official of ACF animal rescue examines a rescued cat in Karachi. Two weeks into the shutdown, Ayesha Chundrigar, who runs ACF Animal Rescue, could hear the cries of the pets from outside the shops, which together housed up to 1,000 animals. “When we got inside, the majority of them were dead, about 70%. Their bodies were lying on the ground,” she told AFP. (ACF Animal Rescue / AFP)

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Vendor Asmat Khan feeding a cat outside his closed shop, in Karachi. Starving and locked in cages with no light or ventilation, the surviving pets sat among the dead, trembling. After the desperate rescue, Chundrigar has now convinced the Karachi authorities to allow pet shop owners and her team daily access to the animals. (Asif Hassan / AFP)

Updated on Apr 09, 2020 11:53 AM

Vendor Asmat Khan feeding a cat outside his closed shop, in Karachi. Starving and locked in cages with no light or ventilation, the surviving pets sat among the dead, trembling. After the desperate rescue, Chundrigar has now convinced the Karachi authorities to allow pet shop owners and her team daily access to the animals. (Asif Hassan / AFP)

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Local resident Noor Ali feeding stray dogs on a street near Clifton in Karachi. In the eastern city of Lahore, animals met with a similarly adverse fate after lockdown. The bodies of about 20 dogs were found dumped in a sewer near Tollinton Market, a hub for pet businesses which had closed leaving animals to starve. (Asif Hassan / AFP)

Updated on Apr 09, 2020 11:53 AM

Local resident Noor Ali feeding stray dogs on a street near Clifton in Karachi. In the eastern city of Lahore, animals met with a similarly adverse fate after lockdown. The bodies of about 20 dogs were found dumped in a sewer near Tollinton Market, a hub for pet businesses which had closed leaving animals to starve. (Asif Hassan / AFP)

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A vendor downing the shutter on his shop after feeding animals during the lockdown in Karachi. (Asif Hassan / AFP)

Updated on Apr 09, 2020 11:53 AM

A vendor downing the shutter on his shop after feeding animals during the lockdown in Karachi. (Asif Hassan / AFP)

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A vendor puts a cover over cages housing animals outside his closed shop. Around 25% of the population already live under the poverty line, but millions more who earn a daily wage have joined them since the lockdown began, experts say. (Asif Hassan / AFP)

Updated on Apr 09, 2020 11:53 AM

A vendor puts a cover over cages housing animals outside his closed shop. Around 25% of the population already live under the poverty line, but millions more who earn a daily wage have joined them since the lockdown began, experts say. (Asif Hassan / AFP)

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Ali Khurshid plays with stray dogs while out feeding them. Pakistani has about 2,4,300 cases of COVID-19 and 63 deaths as of April 09 ,according to the Worldometers coronavirus tracker. (Asif Hassan / AFP)

Updated on Apr 09, 2020 11:53 AM

Ali Khurshid plays with stray dogs while out feeding them. Pakistani has about 2,4,300 cases of COVID-19 and 63 deaths as of April 09 ,according to the Worldometers coronavirus tracker. (Asif Hassan / AFP)

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