On Thursday morning, the Pet Market near Data Darbar was razed down, leading to dozens of animals suffering under the rubble.
Videos of the demolition have gone viral on social media, with netizens expressing shock at the crime. According to Express Tribune, the shop keepers have claimed that they had no time to remove their goods or the animals before the demolition had taken place, and some had claimed many animals died during the operation. S
The operation was conducted by a joint team of the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) and the Traffic Engineering and Transport Planning Agency (TEPA) as part of a remodelling project to reduce traffic congestion and control pollution.
Videos of the recovered animals’ bodies under the debris have enraged people; JFK Animal Rescue and Shelter posted on Instagram:
View this post on Instagram
Critical of the operation, an X user wrote:
Hundreds of helpless cats, dogs were crushed to death after LDA decided to bulldoze a pets market in Lahore overnight. Imagine their terror and pain. Their helplessness. To those who ordered this massacre and carried it out…Qayamat ke din kiya jawab do gey? @maryamnawazkhan
— Quatrina (@QuatrinaHosain) November 7, 2025
Another wrote:
What horrendous cruelty!LDA has demolished Lahore ‘s Pets Market (animals and birds), burying all the animals and birds kept in cages there. Killing those innocent beings with such wanton disregard speaks volumes about our total lack of any sense of morality.#LDA#GOVTOFPUNJAB
— Rakhshanda Iqbal (@RakhshandaIqba2) November 7, 2025
The government’s lack of empathy is heavily criticised, an X user wrote:
An entire animal market in Lahore was bulldozed killing countless innocent lives. This heartbreak calls for Allah’s wrath…a nation that has no empathy for animals has lost a part of its humanity💔😢#LahoreAnimalMarket#ShameOnLDA #LDA #AnimalRights
— Tausi (@tausiA14) November 8, 2025
The government is denying the allegations has taken it to social media as well. The LDA took to their X account to say that a joint operation was carried out to remove the animals from the markets before the shops were razed down.
ترجمان ایل ڈی اے کی بھاٹی چوک میں تجاوزات کے خلاف آپریشن میں جانوروں و پرندوں کی ہلاکت کی خبر کی تردید.
آپریشن سے قبل ٹیموں نے دکانداروں کے ساتھ ملکر سامان بشمول پرندے اور جانور بحفاظت منتقل کیے۔
سوشل میڈیا پر جانوروں کی ہلاکت کی خبر من گھڑت قرار @GovtofPunjabPK #lda pic.twitter.com/5zwlnWZObb— Lahore Development Authority (@LHRDevAuthority) November 7, 2025
