Protecting Pakistan’s Wildlife

With wildlife increasingly under threat worldwide it is shocking that in Pakistan, endangered species are routinely hunted as, on the whole, concerned authorities turn a blind eye. The most published endangered species to be massacred each autumn and winter is the Houbara Bustard which transits in Balochistan from its breeding grounds in Central Asia on its way to warmer winter climes.

Pakistan is the only country that allows hunting – by falcon – of this globally recognised endangered bird species and it is widely known that the Arab royal who, having obtained hunting permits from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, now use firearms to kill the Houbara Bustards, nominally protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

The Balochistan Forest Department – supported by World Wildlife Fund- Pakistan (WWF-P), has demanded a a complete halt Houbara Bustard Hunting but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has, so far, failed to take any action.  Not so well-known is the plight of endangered sharks in Pakistani coastal waters and according to marine experts, 50,000 tonnes of shark fins and meat were exported from Pakistan in 1980 and as a direct result of declining shark numbers, this figure is currently 5,000 tonnes. WWW-P, in conjunction with the Marine Fisheries Department is pushing for the introduction of Shark Conservation Programme to safeguard the 144 shark species either indigenous or transiting Pakistani waters.

On a brighter note, 220 hard-shelled, black pond turtles, illegally caught around Sukkur, were intercepted while they were being smuggled to China via Kashgar last year and, having been returned, were to be released back into their home environment. Turtle trade is globally banned under CITES to which Pakistan is a signatory.

By B. Khan

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