News of our excesses has come out of Chaghai, Balochistan where, instead of preserving endangered wildlife, we are making every effort to wipe it off the face of the earth. It appears a Saudi prince has had the perverse ‘pleasure’ of hunting down as many as 2,100 Houbara Bustards in as little as 21 days, meaning that as many as 100 birds a day were killed for nothing more than ‘sport’. The prince apparently killed 1,977 birds and the remaining 123 were killed by other members of his entourage. The Houbara Bustard is a protected species and lives in wildlife preserves in Balochistan declared protected and safe areas. However, the prince also poached this bird in these protected areas. One would be forgiven for asking how this could even be possible but, lo and behold, the government has given these Saudi (and other Gulf) royals special permits allowing them to hunt the endangered bird. While in the larger scheme of things, considering the turmoil this country is going through, the issue may seem small to many, but it is the most befitting example of how we allow anyone of Saudi (or Gulf) descent to trample all over our sovereignty and right to protect what is ours. This is through no other fault but our own for not having the sense to protect this precious bird.
This news has reached the media because of a report submitted by a divisional forest officer, detailing the hunting trip from January 11 to 31, 2014, right down to the number of birds killed per day. We should be thankful to this officer for revealing just how accommodating our governments are when it comes to pleasing the Arab sheikhs who have been given free rein to hunt the Houbara Bustard on our lands for years now. This is ironic considering that in their own countries, the Arab princes have declared the bustard a protected species and such violations are never allowed to occur. One wonders what the fate of the officer who compiled this report will be. It is not uncommon in our country to see people who do their job honestly and with a conscience get punished instead of rewarded. There are rumours that he has been ‘transferred’ from the forest department; one can only imagine his plight. The hunting of the threatened Houbara Bustard must come to an end; we must show some humanity and stop this butchery by our Gulf ‘friends’.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Pakistan: Decimating the Houbara Bustard
News of our excesses has come out of Chaghai, Balochistan where, instead of preserving endangered wildlife, we are making every effort to wipe it off the face of the earth. It appears a Saudi prince has had the perverse ‘pleasure’ of hunting down as many as 2,100 Houbara Bustards in as little as 21 days, meaning that as many as 100 birds a day were killed for nothing more than ‘sport’. The prince apparently killed 1,977 birds and the remaining 123 were killed by other members of his entourage. The Houbara Bustard is a protected species and lives in wildlife preserves in Balochistan declared protected and safe areas. However, the prince also poached this bird in these protected areas. One would be forgiven for asking how this could even be possible but, lo and behold, the government has given these Saudi (and other Gulf) royals special permits allowing them to hunt the endangered bird. While in the larger scheme of things, considering the turmoil this country is going through, the issue may seem small to many, but it is the most befitting example of how we allow anyone of Saudi (or Gulf) descent to trample all over our sovereignty and right to protect what is ours. This is through no other fault but our own for not having the sense to protect this precious bird.
This news has reached the media because of a report submitted by a divisional forest officer, detailing the hunting trip from January 11 to 31, 2014, right down to the number of birds killed per day. We should be thankful to this officer for revealing just how accommodating our governments are when it comes to pleasing the Arab sheikhs who have been given free rein to hunt the Houbara Bustard on our lands for years now. This is ironic considering that in their own countries, the Arab princes have declared the bustard a protected species and such violations are never allowed to occur. One wonders what the fate of the officer who compiled this report will be. It is not uncommon in our country to see people who do their job honestly and with a conscience get punished instead of rewarded. There are rumours that he has been ‘transferred’ from the forest department; one can only imagine his plight. The hunting of the threatened Houbara Bustard must come to an end; we must show some humanity and stop this butchery by our Gulf ‘friends’.
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