LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday dismissed a petition challenging the ban on bird-keeping in the vicinity of the Allama Iqbal International Airport following incidents of bird strikes on aircraft.

Muhammad Mateen Afzal and other citizens had filed the petition, pleading that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) notification declaring a ‘No Bird Zone’ was unwarranted. They claimed that pigeons had never caused damage to an aircraft.

“Are you suggesting that we wait for an accident and then conduct an inquiry whether a pigeon caused the crash or not?” Justice Raheel Kamran asked the petitioners.

Assistant Advocate General Usman Khan appeared on behalf of the provincial government and opposed the petition against the ban on aviculture. He stated that the issue was not merely about a notification but also involved compliance with international aviation agreements.

He pointed out that since January at least 59 aircraft had collided with birds, two within airport limits and 57 in other areas of Lahore. He also questioned the maintainability of the petition, saying the petitioners could not directly approach the court without first filing an appeal before the environmental tribunal.

A counsel for the petitioners contended that the EPA had no authority to issue the impugned notification.

The law officer said the environmental tribunal had the mandate to decide whether the EPA had the authority.

Dismissing the petition, Justice Kamran observed that the court would not interfere at this stage in the policy of the government regarding maintaining “No Bird Zone”.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2025