Over 6,000 birds found atop passenger bus

SWD teams set free the captured birds, detain bus conductor

KARACHI:

Around 6,800 wild birds were found atop a passenger bus headed to the metropolis from Larkana on Wednesday.

Acting on a tip-off, a raid party of the Sindh Wildlife Department intercepted the bus at the Pakistan Rangers checkpoint located near the Jamshoro Toll Plaza at 4.10am.

The SWD officials found an estimated 6,800 birds, including common sparrows and nightingales - bulbul in the common parlance.

The birds were taken into custody and then released into the wild after a few hours of rehabilitation.

Also read: Birds, beware! Poaching season is here

Lone travellers?

Upon inquiry, the SWD team found no one willing to claim the birds. The birds were travelling to the port city without any owner or guardian it appeared.

"The real culprits were not in the bus," said SWD official Aijaz Ahmed Noondani, speaking to The Express Tribune.

After taking the birds into custody, the SWD officials detained the bus conductor, Rashid Ali Mirani.

According to Noorani, the bus conductor informed the SWD officials that a man named Essa Macchi had handed over the birds and loaded them on the rooftop.

"Mirani will bring Machhi to our office or will lodge a complaint against him," said Noondani, adding that the bus conductor was released after signing an affidavit.

After tending to the captured birds for a few hours, the SWD official released them in the Milani Forest located near Hyderabad city.

In a similar incident last month, the same raid party of the SWD had found over 7,000 wild birds on the roof of a passenger coach near Sohrab Goth.

In both incidents, the birds were loaded onto the bus in Mehar - a small town in Dadu district.

According to SWD officials, the villages from where captured birds are being sent to the port city have been identified. A majority of poachers live in Mahar, where some villagers have been involved in the activity for years, said Noondani.

"We are working hard to convince poachers to abide by the law," said Noondani, adding that there is a complete ban on poaching.

However, despite the ban enforced in February 2019, thousands of birds have been recovered by SWD teams from different locations, indicating that poachers are yet undeterred.

But the SWD claims that it has put an end to 80 per cent of such trade.

Also read: Sindh wildlife department rescues 17 caged kestrels

"The check from our office is very strict," said SWD Provincial Conservator Javed Ahmed Mahar, speaking to The Express Tribune.

The SWD officials claim that seizing the property - birds and baskets - of the poachers during raids results in a hefty financial loss for those engaged in transporting wild birds to big cities.

Noondani maintained that the best way to discourage the wildlife trade was to seize the property and impose heavy fines.

"When we seize the property, it breaks down the poachers badly," said Noorani.

He added that in the current case if the suspect is not brought before the SWD, the bus owner will be held responsible for the crime.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 4^th, 2021.