Poachers hunt with impunity

JOHARABAD:

Hunting of rare birds continues unabated in the hilly areas of Kohistan Namak in Khushab district despite an official ban on it. Notwithstanding the actions taken by the Anti-Poaching Department, influential poachers had turned a blind eye to the ban and were bent upon exterminating the species of Ariyal and other wildlife.

A local social activist, Malik Noor Mohammad, told The Express Tribune that in the Kohistan mountain range, rabbits and other rare wild animals were being hunted.

Hunting of the rare Siberian fowl had been going on in Noorpur Thal area. He said that it was difficult to control poaching due to the lack of personnel in the government department. The government must pay attention to this aspect and fill the vacant posts, he said.

Muhammad Farooq, a local resident, said that Ariyal was found in the hill ranges of Chakwal, Jhelum, Khushab and Attock.

He said that Ariyal was the beauty of this mountain range, but this beautiful animal was being used as meal by the influential people.

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It was a matter of great concern that even when the animals were pregnant, the poachers did not spare them, and sometimes they were deprived of the cubs or the cubs were deprived of their mother, said Muhammad Farooq.

Mohammad Nadeem from Thal said that quail hunting had been on the rise in Thal area. In the winter, they were caught and sold to the big hotels at exorbitant rates. Recorded sounds were used to catch quails. The beautiful bird, which exists in millions, was captured by the poachers at night by playing the prerecorded quail sound on a tape recorder.

Thus quail got netted. The poachers took them to the hotels in Thal where they sold this beautiful wild bird, he said.

Malik Iqbal Awan said that the rare herons and other waterfowl come to the Uchhali Lake, the Khabeki Lake and the Jahler Lake after travelling from the world's coldest lakes during winter, but here they got hunted by poachers.

Officials of the anti-poaching department seemed to be helpless in stopping poaching, he said. The Assistant Director of Wildlife of District Khushab, Rana Mohammad Ashfaq, told The Express Tribune that the strictest legal measures were being taken to stop poaching.

Nineteen poachers of Ariyal and falcons were caught in a single day, and two slaughtered Ariyals recovered from their possession.

The accused were fined Rs250,000 while the falcon hunters were fined Rs350,000.

On a tip-off, Rana Mohammad Ashfaq and his team chased the poachers of Ariyal who had been riding on two motorcycles in the field area Norewala.

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Taking advantage of the forest and darkness, the accused escaped leaving behind a motorcycle and two slaughtered male and female Ariyals. The four accused were identified and issued a challan for violating the Wildlife Act, but on the request of two accused, they were fined Rs250,000 as departmental compensation.

While the slaughtered animals were presented at the local court, which were auctioned for Rs170,000 through an open auction on the orders of the court, and the money was deposited in the national treasury.

Legal action had been initiated against two absconders. Apart from this, the wildlife staff of Khushab had recovered a rare falcon, "Bahri", from a person on a bus.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 2^nd, 2023.