KARACHI, Dec 8: Sindh Wildlife Management Board (SWMB) has offered trophy hunting permits of Sindh Ibex to foreigners without following the prescribed rules, it is learnt.
According to sources, the locals can also apply for the hunting permits but here also the board has discriminated between the people living in Sindh and those residing in other provinces.
The SWMB has offered 10 trophy hunting permits of Sindh Ibex in the game reserves — Sumbak, Surjan, Eri, Hothiano etc — around the Khirthar National Park in Dadu district. Permits for foreigners cost $5,000 each, for people living in Sindh Rs25,000 each and for those living in other provinces, the cost of a permit is Rs50,000.
The sources said that movement of trophies (horns etc) of animals of endangered species across international boundaries was monitored and controlled by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) and Pakistan, being a signatory to the convention, had to follow its rules.
They said any organization offering the animals of endangered species for trophy hunting had to apply to the federal government’s Islamabad-based National Council for Conservation of Wildlife (NCCW) for Cites permission. After the NCCW issued the permission the trophy, hunting permits could be offered to the foreigners.
The sources said that the foreigners who got the trophy hunting permits would like to take the trophies back to their respective countries, but they could not get those through the customs here as well as in their countries without the Cites permits.
They pointed out that a few days back a Cites meeting held in Chile had doubled the quota of trophy hunting of Markhors — an endangered specie — in Pakistan by the foreigners, which proved that Cites permission was necessary for trophy hunting carried out by the foreigners.
They said the SWMB had shown disparity between the trophy hunting permit fees between the people living in Sindh and those living in other provinces, which could create resentment.
They said that last year also, when the trophy hunting permits were offered by Sindh, only the minimum permit fees (Rs50,000) was mentioned. They said that last year five permits were offered but only four hunters applied for them. Two coming from Sindh offered Rs50,000 each and the other two, from Punjab, offered Rs90,000.
Responding to queries by Dawn, Sindh Wildlife Conservator Muneer Ahmad Awan said the Sindh wildlife department had not yet applied for the Cites permission from the NCCW. He, however, did not respond when asked that if the foreigners got the trophy hunting permits from the SWMB after paying the fees but the NCCW did not give the Cites permission, then what would happen or how the SWMB would facilitate the foreigners to take the trophies back without the permits.