Poachers freed after paying compensation

Five men caught after hunting deer avail option under wildlife law

LAHORE:

The Punjab Wildlife Department released five men detained for illegally hunting four deer after the payment of compensation.

According to a statement, personnel at the Wildlife Protection Camp at Tokwala in Cholistan had been notified, and an alert was issued to the checkpoint at Suryan and the wildlife protection squad in Rahim Yar Khan about the hunting.

A team intercepted a vehicle in the vicinity of Demining Chowk, resulting in the recovery of the deer from the possession of the suspects.

The authorities apprehended Saeedullah Niazi, Dr Muhammad Anwar, Zulfiqar Ali, Pir Bakhsh and Muhammad Hasan on the suspicion of illegal hunting.

They seized four slaughtered chinkaras, two rifles and the vehicle from the suspects. Legal proceedings against them were initiated under the Punjab Wildlife Act 1974 (Amended 2007) and Punjab Protected Areas Act 2020.

In a wildlife survey conducted in 2018, the estimated number of Chinkara deer in the 550,000-acre Cholistan area adjacent to Rahim Yar Khan was 148. Due to efforts following the designation of the area as a reserve, the number has increased, but hunting of the species has also increased.

A wildlife conservation activist, Fahad Malik, said such incidents could not be stooped until a complete ban on wildlife hunting. He said simply fining those involved in illegal hunting was insufficient and he violators should face heavy fines and imprisonment.

Rahim Yar Khan Wildlife Assistant Director Usman Anjum said that instead of presenting the suspects in a court, a settlement had been reached under the Wildlife Act and Rs200,000 received for each deer in compensation. Additionally, fine had been imposed for the rifles and vehicle, he added.

He explained that when the hunter pays the compensation, the seized animal and goods are returned.

The official said that if the case had gone to court, the accused would have been fined a nominal amount under the act, whereas the confiscated deer would have been auctioned off and the proceeds would have gone to the treasury.