Smuggling bid foiled: At least two Saker falcons recovered

PESHAWAR: At least two Saker falcons were prevented from being smuggled to Karachi from the city on Sunday. “The birds were netted in Afghanistan and were then smuggled to Peshawar,” Wildlife Sub-divisional Forest Officer Sardar Ali told The Express Tribune. “The owner was trying to transport the falcons to Karachi where buyers from Gulf countries gather to buy these illegally netted birds of prey.” He added the pair seized is worth at least Rs6 million and was found in a house in Ittehad Colony in the city. “The smuggler has been arrested.” Peshawar is considered the biggest black market of Saker falcons in the world; they are falcons mainly used in Arab falconry.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 2^nd, 2015.