Wildlife dept investigating illegal hunting of deer

Official says DC requested him to allow dinner with guests after desert safari

LAHORE: The Punjab Wildlife Department has charged several people after photographs were posted online of an official along with guests hunting animals of a rare breed in Cholistan despite a ban imposed by the provincial government.

District Wildlife Officer (DWO) Asim Kamran said the deputy commissioner of Rahim Yar Khan and his guests fled after hunting 14 deer in Cholistan on Sunday. Kamran said in a video message on social media that Deputy Commissioner Ali Shehzad requested him to allow a dinner with his guests after a desert safari on Saturday night, on which he granted permission to them on the condition that they would not hunt animals. The deputy commissioner also contacted Bahawalpur Wildlife Assistant Director Ali Usman Bukhari for dinner in the desert. A wildlife department official said that on Saturday night, a businessman, Ahmed Shah Hamdani, arrived at the wildlife check post near Shoriyan along with some guests in an official vehicle, shortly after the deputy commissioner arrived with some guests.

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The DWO said that a few hours later his subordinates noted that all the vehicles were changing their route towards the Kharbara area near the Tokenwala wildlife post, which hosts chinkara deer. The wildlife department staff chased them and caught them after they had hunted 12 to 14 deer. Kamran said all the suspects, including the deputy commissioner and the businessman, had been challaned under the Wildlife Act 1974, Amended in 2007, for illegal hunting of rare breeds and would be presented before a local court.

The district wildlife officer has charged three major groups with illegal hunting during the past few days, but no further action has been taken against them. The department’s staff have also reportedly faced threats.

Punjab Wildlife Director Mohammad Naeem Bhatti said the department’s DG was investigating the incident. He said the law is the same for everyone. If a public servant is found involved in illegal hunting, action will be taken against him in accordance with the law, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 17^th, 2020.