illegal trade: Man arrested while transporting birds

PESHAWAR: Wildlife officials seized 300 starlings (Indian mynas) from a man while he was transporting the birds from Sargodha, Punjab to Peshawar in a bus and registered an FIR against him on Wednesday.

The law requires a licence to sell birds in limited numbers but most people continue to trade illegally without acquiring the necessary documents.

“Arshad was taking the birds to Peshawar where they are sold at Rs120 per bird on the street and are a very popular item. An FIR has been registered against him under the Wildlife Act,” said Wildlife Sub-divisional Forest Officer Sardar Ali Khan while talking to The Express Tribune.

“Under the law, a licence is required to trap and sell parrots or mynas or any other bird but most people do not acquire it and openly trap the birds,” he said, adding a crackdown has been launched against smuggling birds in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 6^th, 2014.