Wildlife dept shifts focus to recovery of poached birds

Punjab Wildlife Department Director General Mudassir Riaz Malik has directed field officers to focus on recovering illegally poached birds, particularly falcons and quails, rather than merely issuing fines and challans.

The instructions were given during a video-link meeting with field officers, where the DG expressed dissatisfaction with their performance in curbing illegal poaching activities.

Malik emphasised that recovering the poached birds should be the primary goal. "It is not enough to be satisfied with fines and challans issued to illegal hunters; what truly matters is how many falcons and quails have been recovered," he stated.

The DG underscored the importance of taking concrete action to combat illegal poaching, stressing that falcon recovery should be prioritised.

He expressed regret over the fact that, despite strict monitoring, wild quail is still being sold openly in central areas of several cities.

Malik warned that moving forward, the performance of wildlife officers would be evaluated based on the number of recovered birds rather than the fines issued.