Prince Fahd bin Sultan. PHOTO: AFP
Wildlife officials in Balochistan alleged to AFP that Prince Fahd bin Sultan and others in his party used specially trained falcons to kill the internationally protected houbara bustards while on a three-week trip in January.
For more than a thousand years Bedouin falconers hunted the houbara bustard as a vital source of meat, according to experts.
Jaffar Baloch, divisional forest officer in Chagai district of Balochistan, said he had passed the details to his "superiors".
Another senior official in the Balochistan forestry department confirmed the illegal hunting. "We requested our superiors to stop this practice in future, these birds are already endangered," the official told AFP, asking for anonymity.
Hunting houbara bustards is banned in Pakistan but authorities issue special permits to wealthy visitors from Arab countries. Permit holders can hunt up to 100 of the protected birds in 10 days, but only in certain areas.
The prince had the permit, the official said, but added: "The prince hunted down 1,977 birds himself and 123 were hunted by people travelling with him."
Arab sheikhs are notoriously enthusiastic hunters, travelling to Pakistan each year to hunt the bird using the traditional Arabian method, arriving by private jets from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Their wildly extravagant parties are allotted private hunting grounds in Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab provinces by the government.
Provincial home secretary Asad Gilani told AFP that it was the job of wildlife authorities to stop illegal hunting.
According to conservative estimates, between 500,000 and a million birds migrate through Pakistan each year flying south from Siberia to pass the winter in central and south Asia.
COMMENTS (35)
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To all my Pakistani brothers and sisters:
Don't allow these Saudis to use your soil for these cruel activities.They are the most arrogant and thankless people on this planet.
@Mirza: ,, The point here is the endangered species in Balochistan so you have to keep out of your nose and get out Balochistan ,,, We love our homeland and don't let any one exploit our resources. be that Saudis, Americans or Punjabis
this is disgusting. This is not allowed even in Saudi Arabia. Hunting is allowed only to fulfil your hunger and not as a sport. Hopefully the Arabs would take action against this prince.
@MK: How does tourism matter for the people in the establishment who go around in BMW's?
This figure better be correct because officials have habit of exaggeration.
Bloch are creating trouble against our friends making Pakistan their playground. Those must be branded traitors and cases of high treason be filed against such nationalist environmentalists.
When the Saudis can deny rights of expats in their public sector, and no one from the embassy has the guts to question them. In my 35 years with the university in Riyadh, my contract was changed, and the second time I was not even informed for the new conditions. Whereby, I should have collected 35 salaries, I had to accept a fix amount of fifty thousand. So my country men, these sheikhs think they can buy anything with their money, as once my Saudi colleague told me, see even the Americans fight our war for money.
@Gratgy: However tourism does, some humanity does..but all of it sold to dollars and dates
For a few "barrels" more !!!!
@Mr. Khan: Are you serious? have you ever seen money being spent on any environmental issue? Lake Manchar is trouble, Karachi Islamabad Lahore cant even find a proper dump, list goes on and on. you really think some of the fund "generated by the hunt" will see its way to the service of the bustards? these birds dont breed like rabbits that you cull 2% in one blood lusting shoot.
ET has the courage to report this crime against our wild life others are too busy yelling senseless things which have no meaning like "our brethren blah blah blah".
All these Saudis royals etc. are brothers of our corrupt ruling class. Us common Pakistanis are in reality wretcehd "miskeen", they can always take for granted. They can never did such a crime in India what to even talk about Europe or US
@Mr. Khan: "controlled hunts" of "endangered/protected species" and that too in "thousands", Oh "brothers" who needs enemies with you on our soil
BMWs do not run on bird power, they run on petrol and diesel
He should be behind bars for their henious crimes against innocent bird and that also in danger
Confirmed with authentic sources its halaal as long as it is saudis.
Pakistani officials need dollars and for that they can sell anything
We are a sold nation.
@Ch. Allah Daad:
No sir we are not pointing fingers. We know very soon in the interest of country Nawaz will allow Saudi masters to Kill Pakistanis too. We understand due to enlightens like you that its the need of the hour
Pakistan has been reduced to servitude. The Saudis can pretty much do anything here. Even Jihad.
@Ch. Allah Daad: You mean if they say they will solve our power shortage if they let us hunt "YOU" , then we should allow that too ?
And I'm sure you know why my question sounds as pathetic as your comment which invited it ...
It is Okay. They pay the Alams. They have the right to hunt the Birds. It can happen only here
I don't understand why people are blaming the Pakistan government for this act. They did what is best for the interests of the country. We should stop pointing fingers at them and appreciate the progress achieved in the last 1 year.
Obama did the same in interior Sindh in the year 1987. Google search it for the same.
What a shame ,are we a nation !!!
If it was some americans doing this activity, the outrage could have been at a completely different level.
These prince come to settel permanently in Pakistan, they do it South Punjab,having estate. Pakistani crticise America not the Soaudis? There is big difference in their social activities.
What are endangered species when they are openly supporting the "upset brethren" wiping out endangered Pakistanis one attack at a time. $3 billion can buy a lot of things.
The government is just as complicit in the crime for issuing the permits in the first place
Ssshhhhhh! 1.5 billion dollars.
But the dates were super tasty and sweet and since Saudi kings are our 'Mai-baap', we can even let them shoot people for fun. Plus what benefit can a endangered bird give to us?? It's totally fine if he did that. :)
Before people fly into outrage, controlled hunts are a common industry practice to boost revenues which are then used to rehabilitate the endangered species. South Africa does that with Rhinos which are also endangered and prized for their ivory.