KARACHI: SWD fails to take action against falcon traffickers
By Bhagwandas
KARACHI, Nov 2: Mystery shrouds the fate of an illegal falcon consignment caught last weekend since wildlife officials report that the traffickers were fined and the birds released but provide no proof, while Dawn’s sources claim that the wildlife smugglers were let off along with the rare birds.
The consignment was comprised of 15 to 20 quality Saker falcons that migrate every winter to Pakistan from their cold Central Asian habitats. They were captured by wildlife traffickers based in the lower Punjab and were intercepted by the Sindh Wildlife Department near Sohrab Goth on the Super Highway while being brought in by road from Dera Ismail Khan. In the city, the consignment was to be delivered to another group that operates from residences in the Defence Housing Authority.
Saker falcons are greatly prized in the Gulf and a good specimen can fetch anything from half a million rupees to five million rupees.
‘No punitive action’
Sources said that the traffickers, with their catch, were let off without any concrete punitive action being taken against them. Claiming that the matter was being swept under the rug since the SWD staffers and the traffickers had reached an understanding, sources maintained that the department’s statements concerning the registration of a case, the recovery of a fine and the subsequent release of the birds were mere eye-wash.
Furthermore, they said, in an attempt to lower the importance of the predatory birds, the wildlife officials claimed that the consignment was comprised of local Lagar falcons instead of the prized Central Asian Saker falcons.
In contrast to the established practice, the seized consignment was not brought to the department’s head-office and SWD officials were reluctant to talk to the media. Usually, the SWD invites mediamen to view such wildlife and accompany staffers as independent observers while the catch is released into the wild. In the case of the Saker falcons, however, this routine procedure was not followed and many of the wildlife staffers in the head-office were unaware of the consignment’s seizure.
Press given the runaround
When contacted by Dawn, SWD staffer Rashid Ahmed — one of the people in the usual SWD raid party — said that the falcon case was being handled by Nazar Hussain.
Mr Hussain confirmed that a vehicle carrying falcons had been intercepted on the Super Highway but said that the consignment had only comprised five or six birds. He told Dawn that a First Offence Report — the SWD’s equivalent of the police FIR — had been registered and a fine was recovered from the traffickers. However, he refused to give further details of the fine. He added that the birds were of the local Lagar species and were released near the Steel Mills soon after their seizure. Refusing to answer any further questions, he said that details could be obtained from the wildlife conservator.
Dawn made repeated attempts to contact wildlife conservator Ghulam Rasool Channa at his office but he had reportedly gone “into the field” to prepare for the federal secretary’s proposed visit to the Khirthar National Park. Upon eventually being reached on his cell-phone, he said that he would call back but failed to do so. Subsequently, his phone remained powered off.
Meanwhile, Sindh Wildlife Secretary Mehboob Alam Ansari said that a few days ago, he received information on the strength of which he assigned Hyderabad deputy conservator Saeed Baloch to intercept the consignment. However, he said that he had so far not received a report regarding the seizure although it may be submitted in a week or so as a matter of routine.
Upon requests made by the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (commonly known as CITES), the federal government’s National Council for the Conservation of Wildlife (NCCW) had directed all provinces to refrain from issuing any falcon trapping, netting, trading or selling permits in order to discourage the trade. Although not a single falcon permit has been issued this year, last weekend’s intercepted consignment shows that the illegal trade continues to flourish.
