Poachers Massacre Rare Birds Migrating into Pakistan
11/4/99
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Poachers Massacre Rare Birds Migrating into Pakistan
Source: Environment News Service, http://www.ens.lycos.com/
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: November 4, 1999
Byline: Ahmar Mustikhan
KARACHI, Pakistan, November 4, 1999 (ENS) - The massacre
of endangered birds known as houbara bustards at the hands
of poachers has prompted the World Wide Fund for Nature
(WWF) to bring the killings to the attention of Pakistan's
new chief executive, General Pervez Musharraf.
The president of the WWF, Brigadier (retd) Mukhtar Ahmed,
told the Environment News Service that he is sending an
SOS for the birds to the foreign ministry today, with
copies to the principal staff officers of General
Musharraf, and the governors of Sindh, Balochistan and
Punjab provinces. General Musharraf took power in a
military coup October 17.
According to the Wildlife Acts in the provinces of Punjab,
Sind and Balochistan the hunting of houbara bustards is
prohibited. But each season the ban is temporarily lifted
and permits are issued to affluent Arab sheikhs who richly
reimburse the government for the pleasure of hunting the
rare bird. The previous government's justification is that
these funds can be invested in welfare and development
projects.
In a phone interview from his home in Lahore late
Wednesday, Ahmed said he would ask authorities that at
least 50 percent of the areas where the migrating bustards
arrive be protected. The houbara bustards are the
traditional prey of Arabian falconers as they fly in from
northern latitudes to overwinter in Pakistan.
Ahmed said he would specifically state that, "if under
some compulsions, the head of states and princes are given
permits, it may be ensured that the servants of the
princely rulers do not misuse such permits or engage in
meat collection."
The WWF chief said some poachers from Qatar are now based
in Tharparkar, and are "killing and catching not only
houbara bustards but also desert gazelle, hares and even
foxes. They are pop-shooting any living thing that moves,
just for the fun of it," he said.
Hunters and poachers go for houbara bustards as they
believe the birds' flesh increases their sexual powers.
The migratory birds arrive in October and after spending
their winters in Pakistan leave for their home countries
in March every year.
Roughly 20,000 birds come to Pakistan from Urumchi and
Kashgar areas of Sinkiang in China, and the Kyzl Kum, Tau
Kum and Kara Kum desert areas of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,
and some areas of Turkmenistan.
The WWF chief said, "At least 30 percent of the migratory
birds get killed here, mostly at the hands of meat
collectors and unethical hunters from the Arabian Gulf."
He deplored that the baseline data on how many birds in
fact fly into Pakistan each winter had not been compiled
and there was no key for establishing sustainable hunting
practice of the houbara bustards.
Ahmed has information that at least seven parties from the
Gulf states of UAE, Qatar and Bahrain are already busy
hunting in the southeastern Sindh province. When he
brought the matter to the notice of the officials
concerned all of them drew a blank. The Environment
Ministry had informed him that no bustard permit has been
issued to any Gulf ruler or prince as yet this year.
"I personally communicated to the highest civil servant in
Sindh, the chief secretary, besides the Sindh wildlife
secretary, and the Sindh wildlife conservator, and also
the director general of the Rangers Paramilitary Police
but no one knew about the arrival of the Arab poachers.
The presence of foreigners without any hunting permit is a
very serious matter," the WWF chief said.
Ahmed was astonished at how the landing of the poachers
had gone unnoticed. "They take regular flights to come
here and can easily be identified with the falcons they
bring in with themselves. One wonders how they are not
noticed by the Customs, Airport Security Force and Federal
Investigation Agency?" Ahmed said.
To be legal, the hunters not only need a permit from the
government of Pakistan, but also from their home countries
as provided by international conservation laws.
The WWF chief claims that the "smugglers, swindlers, and
poachers" are killing and picking up the birds with the
connivance of local big wigs in exchange for favours from
the wealthy Arab guests.
He will implore the authorities not to issue any permit
for the Rojhan and Rajanpur areas in the Dera Ghazi Khan
region of Punjab province. The migratory houbara bustards
first arrive here, and then spread out to the south, east
and northeast. Ahmed is also concerned about the Naag
valley in the province of Balochistan, the breeding ground
of a local houbara bustard species. "No permit should be
given as the population has reached almost zero there,"
said Ahmed.
Ahmed, who also heads the Houbara Foundation, stressed
that Pakistan is a party to three international agreements
that protect endangered migratory birds such as the
houbara bustard.
It is uncertain what steps the army rulers might take
against the Arab poachers as they are hoping for financial
assistance from the Gulf Arab states in case Western
assistance stops flowing. The new military rulers have not
given any date for return to democracy.