In pictures: World Animal Day 2018

Many forget that animals are sentient beings too, and should be treated accordingly

Publish : 04 Oct 2018, 02:38 PMUpdate : 04 Oct 2018, 02:38 PM

Started by Heinrich Zimmermann in 1925, World Animal Day aims to raise the status of animals in order to improve welfare standards around the globe. Animal cruelty remains a widespread problem, although there are various welfare organizations across the globe acting as watchdogs.

World Animal Day is an effort to increase awareness so one day we may have a world where we no longer hear about puppies being buried alive in our own city.

White tigers are a rarity among the marvelous panthera tigris tigris. Their white fur is caused by a lack of pigmentation, hence the albino disposition. Pictured, the first white tiger cub born in a zoo in Bangladesh in September 2018 | AFP

Cows are scarcely considered more than cattle during Eid season. In this photo, an unruly cow tries to break free while being taken from the a market during Eid-ul-Azha | Latif Hossain

Elephants in urban areas often used to extort money from people. This close-up of an elephant illustrates how its forced to live a life of servitude, fear, hunger and solitude | Mehedi Hasan

A proud young falcon that was meant to soar among the clouds remains cloistered in a cage at the Bangladesh National Zoo in Dhaka | Mahmud Hossain Opu

This elephant is but among several other of its kind who remain chained up even when they are confined within a pen in the Bangladesh National Zoo in Dhaka | Mahmud Hossain Opu

Exotic animals like this lustrous zebra often suffer from malnutrition and negligence and eventually meet an untimely death | Mahmud Hossain Opu

The oft-proclaimed king of the jungle is rendered virtually a shadow of its wild counterpart as it spends its years in confinement. With little to no exercise that allows the lion to exert its powerful muscles, it has degenerated and lost the brilliance and power it once exuded | Mahmud Hossain Opu

Doc, when do I get my vaccine?nA cat waits patiently at a free vet clinic by PAW Foundation on World Animal Day 2018 | Mahmud Hossain Opu

A melancholic rhino bereft of its mate finds solace at the bottom of a bottle of energy drink. Jokes aside, littering at zoos is not only a terrible sight, but also a hazard to the animals. The authoritys negligence to clean up afterwards also speaks volumes about the care received by animals | Mahmud Hossain Opu

Squawk! | Mahmud Hossain Opu

The Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world and also home to the Royal Bengal Tigers, is threatened by encroaching industrialization and ecological disasters caused by industrial accidents | Syed Zakir Hossain