Caught in the act: Bird hunters arrested for possession of partridges, quails

The 102 birds were brought to Peshawar illegally to be sold.

PESHAWAR: A team of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Wildlife Department seized 16 chukar partridges and 86 quails on Sunday which were being transported to the city from Balochistan and Punjab, respectively.

The team arrested two dealers from Kohat Road who were transporting the chukars in cages from Quetta. Similarly, two more accused were arrested while transporting 86 quails, netted in Punjab, to be sold in the city.

Chukar partridges netted in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan are highly valued in Peshawar because of their large size and melodious birdsong, and each bird could fetch a price as high as Rs14,000.

“People use these birds for bird fighting and as pets in homes,” Wildlife Department Sub-Divisional Forest Officer Sardar Ali told The Express Tribune.

According to Ali, the netting of chukar was completely banned. The official confirmed two dealers were arrested for transporting and netting quails without permits.

“A permit is required for dealers as well as hunters of quails,” he explained, adding quails are a popular treat during winters and are on the menu of all quality restaurants in the city.

“Quail meat is considered delicious and they are being kept as fighting birds too but in winters they are hunted for their meat,” he explained, adding there was no ban on raising the birds in farms but the buying and selling of native quail was banned without proper permits from the wildlife department.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 2^nd, 2013.