Men selling lizard oil extracted from the Hardwicke’s spi

Men selling lizard oil extracted from the Hardwicke’s spiny-tailed lizard, on the sidewalks of Rawalpindi, Pakistan. According to an article by Fawad Ali in Express Tribune ; "about 40 quacks sitting along the footpath are selling an oil-based concoction famed to be a cure for pains and problems related to the head, ears, back, kidneys, and various muscles " but the real selling point seems to be the belief that it increases "manliness". The article explains that "the lizards are caught and sold to quacks for just Rs30. The quacks then cut open the lizards and disembowel them. With the internal organs removed, the carcass is then heated to extract the oil that they sell for Rs680 (approx $6) After using a syringe to pour it into small vials, the quacks sell the headache-cum-impotence ‘cure’ to their buyers, which oddly enough, seem to mostly be school and college-going students." Unfortunately these lizards are not considered endangered even though their existence in numbers has seen a decline due to oil extraction but the fact still remains largely ignored. Photo by @khaula28 #streetlife #pindi #pakistan #animalrights