Pakistan

A birdless endeavour: Endangered Saker Falcons seized, smuggler takes flight

K-P wildlife dept foiled the bid following intelligence information.

Riaz Ahmad September 19, 2013

The falcons are in great demand in the Gulf countries. PHOTO: THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE/FILE

PESHAWAR: Four Saker Falcons were recovered by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Wildlife Department from a man attempting to smuggle them to Karachi in a passenger coach on Kohat Road near Badhaber on Thursday morning.

Sub-divisional Forest Officer (SDFO) Wildlife Sardar Ali said they had received information stating four falcons would be smuggled in a coach to Karachi on Thursday morning. Consequently, they dispatched a team to the suspected area and managed to seize the birds, he told The Express Tribune.

“Jehanzeb escaped, leaving his birds behind, but we have identified him and an FIR has been registered,” said the SDFO. He added the birds are Siberian Falcons that migrate to Afghanistan, Pakistan and China where bird hunters catch them on a large scale. The accused was taking the birds to UAE via Karachi, speculated Ali.

The falcons are in great demand in the Gulf countries, he explained. In recent years their prices have gone down due to an international ban on their trade across the globe – which is why these birds are now smuggled. “The collective price of the four falcons is at least Rs3.5 million in UAE,” he informed.

“We will free these birds in the golf club once the permission is given by the district sessions judge. These falcons are endangered, but are still illegally netted in Pakistan and Afghanistan despite a ban on their trade.”

Peshawar has the largest black market of Saker Falcons in the world. The trade dates back to when Arabs came to the area for conquest and started transporting these birds to their homelands. As demand rose, locals started capturing and trading falcons too.

The valued Saker Falcons have almost disappeared in Pakistan due to extensive hunting, but birds caught in China and Afghanistan still find their way to the Peshawar market, from where they are smuggled to Arab countries.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 20^th, 2013.