Punjab Launches Portable X-Rays for Zoo and Captive Wildlife

LAHORE: The Punjab Wildlife and Parks Department has introduced portable digital X-ray services for captive wild animals, marking a significant upgrade to veterinary care at zoos and wildlife facilities across the province. The service is being operated through the Wildlife Hospital at Lahore Safari Zoo and is designed to bring diagnostic imaging directly to animals requiring treatment.

The technology has already been used for on-site radiography involving a fallow deer and a python kept at Lahore Zoo. The procedures allowed veterinary teams to examine the animals without taking them to an outside medical facility, reducing delays and avoiding the risks associated with moving wildlife through busy urban areas.

Officials said the diagnostic work was conducted under the direction of Lahore Zoo Director Ghulam Rasool and supervised by Deputy Director Shahzaib Khurshid. The initiative is intended to give wildlife veterinarians faster access to imaging when investigating injuries, bone conditions, internal complications or other medical concerns that cannot be confirmed through a routine physical examination.

Ghulam Rasool said portable X-ray equipment had changed the way such cases could be handled. Instead of transferring animals to external clinics, veterinary teams can now perform imaging inside an enclosure or at a designated treatment site, enabling quicker clinical decisions while keeping the animal in a familiar and controlled environment.

Under the traditional process, a wild animal often had to be immobilised, loaded into a transport vehicle and taken to an outside veterinary facility before being returned to its enclosure. Every stage required specialised staff and careful monitoring, while repeated handling and transportation could expose already unwell animals to stress, injury or medical complications.

Portable digital radiography can shorten that process considerably. The department expects the facility to strengthen emergency response, disease diagnosis and orthopaedic assessment while helping veterinarians determine treatment plans more accurately. Digital images can also be reviewed promptly, allowing medical teams to decide whether an animal requires medication, surgery, observation or further testing.

Early diagnosis is particularly important in wildlife medicine because captive animals may conceal pain or illness until a condition becomes serious. Large mammals, reptiles and other difficult-to-handle species can also present unique challenges during conventional examinations, making non-invasive diagnostic tools valuable for identifying fractures, internal abnormalities and complications linked to age or injury.

The initiative could improve animal welfare standards at public wildlife facilities in Punjab by reducing unnecessary movement and making specialised care more accessible. It may also lower pressure on external veterinary centres and enable zoo staff to respond more efficiently when an animal develops a sudden health problem or suffers an injury inside its enclosure.

The wider impact will depend on how extensively the equipment is deployed, whether veterinary teams receive continuing technical training and how effectively the machinery is maintained. The Wildlife and Parks Department is expected to use the initial procedures as a foundation for expanding portable diagnostic services to more captive species and facilities across Punjab.