ISLAMABAD: The Punjab Wildlife Department on Tuesday apprehended two poachers and fined Rs50,000 for trying to hunt barking deer in the Kahuta National Park.

District Wildlife Officer Punjab Wildlife Department Rizwana Imtiaz told Dawn that her office had received complaints about illegal hunters shooting in protected forest land.

“Both of them were locals and apprehended with their shotguns. Fortunately, our team caught them before they could kill a barking deer. They were fined on the spot under the law protecting wildlife,” said Rizwana Imtiaz.

The DWO Rawalpindi herself led the team and arrested the hunters.

The barking deer may not be enlisted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as threatened or endangered species but its hunting is strictly prohibited under Pakistani laws.

According to a study conducted by the Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi in 2016, less than 150 barking deer survive in the national park due to its over hunting and loss of precious environmental habitat. Preventing its illegal hunting is particularly difficult given the difficult hilly terrain where it lives.

“The holidays due to lockdown have provided an ample opportunity to locals to come out with their guns and hunt animals in protected forest lands,” said Rizwana Imtiaz.

Chestnut brown on the back and contrasting white underneath, small, barking deer are extremely shy and difficult to see in the wild.

They are found at altitudes below 4, 000 feet.

Published in Dawn, April 1st, 2020