CHAKWAL: A wildlife watcher was suspended after photographs of him with poachers were circulated on social media alleging his involvement in the poaching of endangered Punjab urials.

“A watcher has been stopped from performing duty and directed to remain present in the office until an inquiry against him is completed,” District Wildlife Officer Abid Mirza toldDawn.

Few days ago, a post about the killing of urials went viral on social media which resulted in the arrest of poachers based on the photographs they took with urials they had killed years ago. The wildlife watcher posted to a checkpost near Ban Amir Khatoon was also seen in photos along with the poachers.

Prompted by the post, which some sources said were leaked after poachers developed differences among themselves, Mr Mirza sought the cooperation of District Police Officer (DPO) Mohammad Bin Ashraf as some of the photographed poachers were carrying automated rifles that they used to hunt the urials.

We have enough material against poachers to prosecute them, official says

The DPO ordered the Saddar and Dohman station house officers to initiate legal action against the poachers found to be possessing illegal firearms.

Saddar police have arrested one alleged poacher and recovered a 7mm rifle from his home while another poacher has been booked on the charge of possessing an illegal weapon though he is yet to be arrested.

Wildlife department officials also apprehended three others and fined them Rs100,000, Rs70,000 and Rs60,000 for killing urials. Mr Mirza said: “We have enough material against the poachers to prosecute them. We are taking the posts and photos just as supporting evidence.”

The Punjab urial is an endangered mammal found only in the Salt Range and Kala Chitta Range, both of which fall in the Chakwal, Jhelum, Khushab, Mianwali and Attock districts.

The trophy hunting of urials is carried out annually in a bid to conserve its population as only old male urials are hunted after they are spotted using telescopes and marked by the size of their horns. Only foreign hunters tend to participate in this activity, as the wildlife department charges a hefty fee. This year, the department charged $18,000 for one trophy, though foreign hunters have to pay around $27,000 to outfitters who manage the hunt.

The department issued 16 trophy hunting permits for 2019-20. The hunting period started in December and was supposed to continue until March 31 but was halted earlier because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Deputy Director Wildlife Mohammad Anwar Man said: “14 urials were hunted by foreign hunters while two were still to be hunted when hunting was stopped.”

Around 80pc of the money collected under the head of trophy hunting is given to community-based organisations responsible for protecting urials and other wildlife species and to carry out social work.

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2020