Wildlife officer booked in Narowal for illegal hunting

Crackdown is part of broader effort to curb illegal hunting, wildlife trafficking, animal cruelty across province

An FIR has been registered against a local Wildlife Rangers officer in Narowal for allegedly hunting inside a protected area.

According to the FIR lodged at Police Station Lasser Kalan on the complaint of Senior Wildlife Ranger Zafarwal, Abdul Rehman Sajid, Assistant Chief Wildlife Ranger Muhammad Taimoor, and four others are accused of illegal night-time hunting in the Baironath Forest, located in Zafarwal’s border region.

The FIR states that Taimoor had installed an illegal blue police light on his private vehicle, and a 9mm pistol was recovered from his possession.

Meanwhile, under the supervision of Dera Ghazi Khan Deputy Chief Wildlife Ranger Sakhi Muhammad Joiya, the Dera Ghazi Khan Wildlife Rangers arrested a chukar partridge smuggler and recovered 40 live partridges, initiating legal proceedings.

Read: Four arrested as wildlife operations intensify across Punjab

In a separate action, another suspect was detained for possessing a brown partridge illegally. All recovered birds were transferred to the Dera Ghazi Khan and Taunsa zoos.

In another operation in Lodhran, acting on a whistle-blower tip, authorities arrested three suspects transporting a dog intended for bear-baiting, a banned blood sport. The dog was seized, and the suspects were fined Rs80,000.

The Punjab Wildlife Department says the crackdown is part of a broader effort to curb illegal hunting, wildlife trafficking, and animal cruelty across the province.