Wildlife officials seize 150 desert lizards

The dept will release them into the wild in a few days

KARACHI: A team of the Sindh wildlife department seized around 150 desert lizards on a tip-off near Jamshoro on Friday evening.

Six persons, who were caught red-handed, were released after legal formalities under the provincial wildlife act, said the officials. They said that the lizards will be released into the wild in a few days.

Wildlife deputy conservator Ghulam Muhammad Gaddani confirmed that the raid was conducted on a tip-off near Jamshoro. “The [lizard] catchers have been involved in the business for years,” he said.

According to Gaddani, most of such species are sold in Karachi. “We can’t allow anyone to catch and sell wild animals, birds or any species,” he said. “Strict action is being taken against the people involved in the illegal business.”

Read: Pakistan to employ DNA barcodes to curb illegal wildlife trade

Sources told The Express Tribune that there are certain communities who have been involved in this business for years. “They catch such species from the wild and sell them in markets,” said a wildlife official. He said that the demand of the desert lizards is very high in Empress Market, Karachi, and Hyderabad. “The buyers get desert lizards’ oil and sell it as medicine,” he said, adding there are no scientifically proven benefits of the oil. “It is nothing but a business of cheating simple people.”

Wildlife officials say that it is the season when people from certain communities go in the jungle and hilly areas to catch such lizards. According to them, certain communities such as Jogis, Bheels, Ribaris and other indigenous communities of Sindh, who live away from urban areas, are involved in such activities.

“It is an illegal act to hunt, sell or purchase wild species,” said Gaddani, adding that he has already sent the message to certain communities to stay away from this business.

According to wildlife official Wajid Shaikh, when the team carried out the raid, there were numerous people who were busy catching lizards. “But because we were limited in number, we could only catch the six. The others fled.”

Further talking about the seized lizards, Shaikh explained how the hunters damage the backs of the lizards so that they may not be able to move and escape. “We will let the confiscated lizards out in the wild in a few days as, right now, they cannot move,” he said.

Interestingly, the wildlife law doesn’t protect all wild animals and birds. But the action taken by the Hyderabad team is being appreciated by senior officials, who said that the new law, which is about to be introduced, will protect all species that have never been considered.

Many people are said to be involved in hunting leopard geckos in several areas of Sindh, including Jamshoro, Dadu, Thatta and Tharparkar. However, the officials of the wildlife department claim that the illegal business of leopard geckos does not exist on a considerable level.

Wildlife experts believe that jobless people in rural areas involve themselves in risky trades such as catching poisonous snakes just for a few thousands rupees. “It is not an easy trade to catch any species from the wild,” a senior official commented. “[But] these people risk their lives just to earn some money.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 6^th, 2015.