Time to end the hunting permits
It is time that we shed the ways of the past and stopped appeasing the princes at the expense of these beautiful birds


Houbara bustards are an endangered species and are nominally protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). In a miserable irony the hunters all come from countries that are signatories to CITES, and earlier this year the United Arab Emirates sent a hunting party to Balochistan as it was simultaneously signing a treaty to protect them with the government of Kazakhstan, where many of the birds commence their fatal migration. The hunting permits are issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and have been for decades. It is time to call a halt to this annual slaughter and for the ministry to stop issuing permits, no matter whose toes it may tread on. Pakistan needs to impress upon its friends in the Gulf and the Middle East that it is serious about protecting its endangered wildlife. It is time that we shed the ways of the past and stopped appeasing the princes at the expense of these beautiful birds.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 19th, 2014.
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