Pakistan: 14 Arab Royals Given Permit To Hunt Endangered Houbara Bustard This Winter

<p dir="ltr"><strong>New Delhi:</strong> Pakistan&rsquo;s Sindh province has this year granted permission to as many as 14 Arab dignitaries to hunt internationally protected bird species houbara bustard, Dawn reported.</p> <p dir="ltr">Among the hunters are the UAE president, the prime minister of Qatar and the king of Bahrain.</p> <p dir="ltr">Quoting sources, the Dawn report said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had forwarded the &ldquo;recommendations&rdquo; for Falconry Season 2021-2022 (excluding protected areas) to the Sindh government, with a request to issue necessary permits in accordance with the country&rsquo;s wildlife law.</p> <p dir="ltr">The provincial government approved the 14 names during a meeting two weeks ago, with each allotted a specific area for hunting.</p> <p dir="ltr">The hunting of houbara bustards is being allowed though a case challenging the practice has been pending in a Pakistan court for some time now.</p> <p dir="ltr">In a statement released in 2020, the World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature-Pakistan had called for an immediate ban, keeping in view the houbara bustards&rsquo; vulnerable IUCN Red List status. The Asian houbara bustard, also known as MacQueen&rsquo;s bustard (Chlamydotis macqueenii) faces threats of extinction in the entire region. Its hunting is otherwise banned in Pakistan, but the country makes an exception for the Arab royals.</p> <p dir="ltr">Arab dignitaries have been for a long time granted special hunting permits. While the Pakistan government used to directly issue the permits earlier, the procedure was changed after 2016-17 reportedly after the matter reached court.</p> <p dir="ltr">&ldquo;Now, the power of granting permission for hunting lies with respective provincial governments,&rdquo; Dawn quoted a wildlife expert as saying.&nbsp;</p> <p dir="ltr">The Arab royals hunt the bird as a sport, and the special permission is viewed as &ldquo;soft diplomacy&rdquo; between Pakistan and the Arab world.</p> <h3 dir="ltr"><strong>About Houbara Bustard</strong></h3> <p dir="ltr">Native to Central Asia, the Asian houbara bustard migrates to the Indian subcontinent, including Pakistan, during the winters, travelling 2,000-odd kilometres. They return with the onset of summer. The bird is similar to the Great Indian Bustard, native to India and also endangered.&nbsp;</p> <p dir="ltr">The meat of the Asian houbara is believed to be an aphrodisiac.</p> <p dir="ltr">Bustards are a vulnerable species and most countries ban their hunting. In 2015, Pakistan&rsquo;s Supreme Court also completely banned the practice, but the decision was withdrawn in 2016. Allotting special hunting permits is part of Pakistan&rsquo;s foreign policy. According to reports, the government had challenged the ban, arguing that wealthy Arab hunters brought investment to the areas and that the ban would affect the country&rsquo;s relations with the Gulf nations.</p> <p dir="ltr">A 2016 BBC report quoted a Pakistan senator as saying that the dignitaries who come to hunt the bird pay &ldquo;10m Pakistani rupees [$95,000; &pound;66,500] for hunting 50 birds in season&rdquo;.</p> <p dir="ltr">The IUCN has said bustard hunting in Pakistan is &ldquo;unsustainable&rdquo;. The global population of the bird ranges between 50,000 and 1,00,000, according to the BBC report.</p> <h3 dir="ltr"><strong>Hunting Permits Issued This Year</strong></h3> <p dir="ltr">According to the Dawn report, Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hammad Al-Thani has been allowed to hunt in Diplo and Islamkot of Tharparkar district, while King of Bahrain Hammad bin Isa bin Salman Al-Khalifa has been given Jamshoro district.&nbsp;</p> <p dir="ltr">UAE President and Abu Dhabi ruler Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan will hunt in Sukkur, Ghotki, Sanghar, Nawabshah and Khairpur districts of Sindh &mdash; barring some areas such as the Sindh desert safari and the area across Nara Canal.</p> <p dir="ltr">Khairpur, Larkana, Qambar-Shahdadkot and Dadu districts have been allotted to Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, a member of the UAE ruling family and the UAE president&rsquo;s representative in the Western Region.</p> <p dir="ltr">Other members of the UAE ruling family who have been granted permits, according to the report, include Major General Sheikh Ahmed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum; Sheikh Sultan Bin Tharon Al Nahyan, Member of the Executive Council of Abu Dhabi; and Sheikh Rashid bin Khalifa Al Maktoum.</p> <p dir="ltr">Hunting permits have also been granted to Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdul Aziz Al-Thani, the prime minister of Qatar; Sheikh Fahad bin Abdul Rahman bin Hammad Al-Thani, a member of the royal family of Qatar; Sheikh Ebrahim bin Hamad bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa, a senior member of the ruling family and uncle of the king of Bahrain; Lt Gen Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa, the first cousin of the king of Bahrain; Sheikh Abdullah bin Salman Al-Khalifa, adviser to the king of Bahrain for Defence Affairs; Sheikh Ahmed bin Ali Al-Khalifa, first cousin of the king of Bahrain; and Sheikh Khalid bin Rashid bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa, first cousin of the king of Bahrain.</p>