Cher overjoyed as Pakistan agrees to free lonely elephant Kaavan
- Outrage over pachyderm’s treatment in Islamabad zoo sparked high-profile rights campaign backed by US singer
- Court orders wildlife officials to find ‘suitable sanctuary’ for animal within 30 days
Music icon Cher marked “ONE OF THE GREATEST MOMENTS OF MY LIFE” on Thursday after a Pakistani court ordered freedom for a lonely elephant named Kaavan, who had become the subject of a high-profile rights campaign backed by the US singer.
“WE HAVE JUST HEARD FROM PAKISTAN HIGH COURT KAAVAN IS FREE,” Cher tweeted, adding a string of emojis and saying she felt “SICK”.
“THIS IS ONE OF THE GREATEST MOMENTS OF MY LIFE,” the effusive singer continued.
The Islamabad High Court has ordered wildlife officials to consult Sri Lanka to find Kaavan a “suitable sanctuary” within 30 days, tweeted the Friends of Islamabad Zoo, which described itself as a group of citizens concerned about animal welfare at the zoo.
Outrage over treatment of Kaavan, an Asian elephant originally from Sri Lanka, went global several years ago with a petition garnering over 200,000 signatures after it emerged the animal was being chained at the Islamabad Zoo in Pakistan’s leafy capital.
Zoo officials later said this was no longer the case, and that it just needed a new mate after its previous partner died in 2012.