RAWALPINDI: The Wildlife Department on Saturday raided a large bird market on College Road, Rawalpindi, and sealed three shops for selling birds without a license, besides registering cases against the shopkeepers under the Wildlife Act.

According to a spokesperson for the department, an FIR has also been registered, and arrests have been made for hunting quail and eagles.

According to him, several birds were seized during the operation as the department has warned citizens to refrain from buying and selling illegal birds.

According to sources, quails were found in Gujar Khan, Kahuta and Kallar Syedan while eagles have been recovered from an area along Soan River near Chakri.

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The Wildlife Department has constituted raiding teams in Rawalpindi, Gujar Khan, Kallar Syedan, Kahuta, and Taxila to curb illegal hunting of birds.

The department has announced that license holders with weapons will be given only three permits for quail hunting, while there is a complete ban on hunting certain species, for which no permits will be issued.

Published in Dawn, August 10th, 2025