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Pak falcons at risk as Arabs given licences

By Amar Guriro

KARACHI: The government has issued 10 licences to Arab princes and sheikhs, allowing them to bring 470 falcons into the country to hunt endangered bird species, Daily Times learnt on Saturday.

Sources revealed the government has issued the 10 licences to Arab princes and sheikhs, allowing them to bring the falcons into the country to hunt the houbara bustard. They said there was risk of the licences being misused to smuggle genetically-superior breeds of falcons out of Pakistan. The sources claimed the Arab dignitaries were bringing their own falcons, many of which could be of inferior breed, under the licences and could take back with them better breeds of the bird.

They said it is easy for foreigners issued such licences to acquire falcons in the country, especially the Saker falcons from Central Asia and the Peregrine falcons of Siberia that migrate to Pakistan every winter. The licences have been signed by the deputy conservator of the National Council for Conservation of Wildlife (NCCW) – which is an attached department of the Ministry of Environment – and is responsible for formulating appropriate wildlife policies for the conservation of nature and natural resources.

Daily Times has obtained copies of these licences, which bear the names of their Arab recipients. The sources said the provincial wildlife department usually charges large amounts for issuing such licences but the Arab dignitaries had not been charged anything. The document said the government had allowed Sheikh Ali Bin Abdullah Thani Al-Thani, member of the Supreme Council of the Royal Family of the State of Qatar, to bring 50 falcons; Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani, prime minister and foreign minister of the State of Qatar, 50; Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, the heir apparent of the State of Qatar, 30; Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayad Al-Nahyan, 10 and 15 for Prince Fahad Ben Sultan Ben Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, governor of Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

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