LAHORE: As many as 12 hunters have been arrested of which five have been fined and seven have been booked by local police in province-wide operations by the Punjab Wildlife and Parks Department.
A statement said that the operation has been ongoing in full force and as a result rare flamingos and cranes have begun returning.
Giving details of rescue operations across Punjab, it said that Bahawalpur wildlife rangers sighted a large flock of rare cranes (Demoiselle Crane) landing on the wetlands of Cholistan Public Wildlife Reserve.
In another operation, a Chinkara fawn found with a herd of goats was safely rescued. It has been taken into custody for further rehabilitation and given special care.
In another operation, a dove hunter was arrested from Liaquatpur tehsil and fined Rs100,000. In Bahawalnagar, Assistant Chief Wildlife Ranger Arooj Zaheer arrested five hunters involved in quail netting and catching monitor lizards, and registered FIRs against them.
In Manchanabad, an FIR has been registered against quail hunters for allegedly opening fire on wildlife rangers. Meanwhile, Rajanpur Assistant Chief Wildlife Ranger Saima Mohsin had fined two duck hunters Rs70,000 for illegal hunting.
In Jhelum, Assistant Chief Wildlife Ranger Arshad Naz fined a hare hunter Rs60,000 and Chakwal Assistant Chief Wildlife Ranger Mirza Abid Hussain arrested two hunters for illegal quail netting. One suspect was fined Rs125,000, while an FIR was registered against the other.
Bhakkar Assistant Chief Wildlife Ranger Muhammad Tariq seized two quail netting gears and registered FIRs against two accused. Muzaffargarh Assistant Chief Wildlife Ranger Abdul Rehman seized seven quail netting gears and initiated legal proceedings.
Published in Dawn, September 7th, 2026
