Islamabad, Jul 20 (IANS): A Pakistani provincial assembly "in its (in)finite wisdom" has declared that an ostrich is not a bird but an animal, said a leading daily.

An editorial in the Dawn Friday asked: "When is an ostrich not a bird?"

"Apparently, when you add Pakistani legislators into the mix. On Wednesday, in its (in)finite wisdom, the Punjab Assembly once again declared by a majority vote that an ostrich was not a bird but an animal, at least for the purposes of officialdom."

It came up because of the re-tabling of the Punjab Animal Slaughter Control (Amendment) Bill 2012.

The daily said that the Punjab government's aim seems to be to facilitate the import, farming and slaughter of ostriches for their meat.

"As a non-native exotic bird, ostriches were treated under the law - until the latest amendment was passed - in a way that limited their use for commercial purposes. Of course, rather than update the laws that would allow ostrich farming to be regulated and ostrich meat to be consumed, the Punjab Assembly saw fit to declare ostriches as animals and skip the more cumbersome approach," it said.

The editorial asked "...at whose behest was this done and what are the risks involved for consumers?"

"Special interests lobbying for the change in rules are surely hoping to earn windfall profits and it has yet to be explained what loss the state exchequer may suffer from this," it added.