PESHAWAR, June 14: The NWFP wildlife department will equip its field staff with automatic rifles to check illegal hunting and poaching of wild species in protected areas of the province, officials have said.

They said the provincial government had directed the home affairs department to provide AK-47 rifles to 600 watchers and field staff of the wildlife department to curb illegal hunting and trapping of wild birds and animals in national parks and conservancies in the province.

The Kalashnikovs had been seized by different government agencies and no new purchases were on the cards for the plan, sources said.

The government, the officials said, also planned to provide communication tools and mobile phone facilities to field staff in remote areas.

Dr Mumtaz Malik, Chief Conservator of the Wildlife Department said that illegal hunting and trapping of wild birds and animals was on the rise in the province. Some animals like snow leopards and markhors had been placed in the list of endangered species, he added.

During 2005, 2,349 cases of illegal hunting and trapping of animals and birds were registered. Of the cases, 1,247 were decided at departmental level, while 1,070 were referred to civil judges. The officials said a plan was under consideration to increase the number of watchers from the current 450.