Is there no saving the Houbara Bustard?

The endangered Houbara Bustard is one step closer to extinction.

Local poachers and high-rolling Arab hunters kill an estimated 3,000 Houbaras in Balochistan every year, according to local wildlife activists. Besides hunting, the bird’s eggs and chicks are also illegally trafficked out of the country after being collected from the Chagai, Kharan, Lasbela, and Zhob districts of the province.

Every year, upward to 30,000 Houbaras migrate from Central Asia and land in the Nag valley in Balochistan for a period of six months. It is during these breeding months, starting February, that the birds are most vulnerable to poachers.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has categorised the bird as a “vulnerable” species at high risk of extinction.

In 2015, the Supreme Court of Pakistan outlawed the hunting of the endangered species. In the judgement, the Court called the birds the country’s “assets” and further added that following the passage of the 18th amendment, the rights to issue such licenses rests with the provincial government. Yet, the ministry of foreign affairs continued to dole out hunting permits to wealthy royals from the Gulf states. Then, in 2016, the same court overturned the ban. A five-member bench, headed by Justice Saqib Nisar, announced the verdict. Only Justice Qazi Faez Isa wrote a dissenting note opposing the order.

Interestingly, the court noted that the Balochistan Act 2014 classifies the bird both as protected and a game animal, causing much confusion.

Today, the state openly issues 10-day hunting permits to Arab dignitaries, without specifying dates. In fact, during this time, the fee of a single permit can cost up to $0.1 million for ten days.

To keep a check and to prevent over-hunting, the provincial forest department has appointed four game watchers. But they are almost always helpless to stop powerful dignitaries.

The government has also established a wildlife sanctuary, to protect wildlife species from being hunted, in the Chagai district of the province. Yet, in the winter season when the Houbaras fly in, the entire sanctuary is handed over to the Gulf royals.

Despite strong protests by the WWF-Pakistan officials and activists, the killing for sport of the beautiful animal continues, unabated. In fact, in recent years, customs officials say they have caught a large number of people trying to smuggle the bird’s eggs and chicks out of the province to Gulf countries.