Bulls-eye: Partridge hunting season begins in K-P
Although no estimates on the bird’s population exist, hunting is allowed every year .
PESHAWAR:
Partridge hunting season for 2014-2015 officially kicked off in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday and will conclude on February 2 next year.
With the exception of Hangu, Tank, Kohistan districts and Bahrain and Matta subdivisions in Swat, the entire province will be open to partridge shooting, after a licence is obtained from the wildlife department.
District Forest Officer Muhammad Ali told The Express Tribune that hunting will only be permissible on Sundays and gazetted holidays, while hunting in game reserves will only be permissible under a special shooting licence issued by the wildlife department’s chief conservator.
On any shooting day, the maximum birds allowed per bag per gun is eight; if the kill exceeds the limit, the shooter will be charged Rs500 per bird in addition to compensation.
The rules under which the shooting licence will be issued strictly prohibit the use of automatic weapons, including shotguns. Other restrictions mentioned in the K-P Wildlife (Protection, Preservation and Conservation and Management) Act 1975 will also remain enforced.
Although, the province’s partridge population is put on target every year, almost no systematic research has been done by any organisation or even the wildlife department to put an estimate on the bird’s or any other wildlife species’ population in K-P. Moreover, no definitive analysis of any endangered species has been conducted.
According to an old wildlife department report, the status of snow partridge species of the bird has been declared ‘unknown suspected’ because no estimates of its population have been tabulated.
An official of the department said it does not have enough resources or personnel to monitor and estimate partridge population.
In order to control the dwindling population of the birds, a complete ban has been imposed on their hunting and capture, except for during the shooting season. However, partridges from K-P and Afghanistan continue to be captured and openly sold in markets across the city.
As the wildlife department remains unable to protect large swathes of land from hunters and poachers, birds and other species are hunted with impunity. Therefore, the department has now focused on creating awareness among the public about the preservation.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 24th, 2014.
Partridge hunting season for 2014-2015 officially kicked off in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday and will conclude on February 2 next year.
With the exception of Hangu, Tank, Kohistan districts and Bahrain and Matta subdivisions in Swat, the entire province will be open to partridge shooting, after a licence is obtained from the wildlife department.
District Forest Officer Muhammad Ali told The Express Tribune that hunting will only be permissible on Sundays and gazetted holidays, while hunting in game reserves will only be permissible under a special shooting licence issued by the wildlife department’s chief conservator.
On any shooting day, the maximum birds allowed per bag per gun is eight; if the kill exceeds the limit, the shooter will be charged Rs500 per bird in addition to compensation.
The rules under which the shooting licence will be issued strictly prohibit the use of automatic weapons, including shotguns. Other restrictions mentioned in the K-P Wildlife (Protection, Preservation and Conservation and Management) Act 1975 will also remain enforced.
Although, the province’s partridge population is put on target every year, almost no systematic research has been done by any organisation or even the wildlife department to put an estimate on the bird’s or any other wildlife species’ population in K-P. Moreover, no definitive analysis of any endangered species has been conducted.
According to an old wildlife department report, the status of snow partridge species of the bird has been declared ‘unknown suspected’ because no estimates of its population have been tabulated.
An official of the department said it does not have enough resources or personnel to monitor and estimate partridge population.
In order to control the dwindling population of the birds, a complete ban has been imposed on their hunting and capture, except for during the shooting season. However, partridges from K-P and Afghanistan continue to be captured and openly sold in markets across the city.
As the wildlife department remains unable to protect large swathes of land from hunters and poachers, birds and other species are hunted with impunity. Therefore, the department has now focused on creating awareness among the public about the preservation.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 24th, 2014.