A leading environmental group working for
conservation of flora and fauna has sought intervention of the External Affairs
Ministry to put pressure on Pakistan to ban hunting of rare birds, Houbara
bustards, which has drastically reduced India's share of their annual winter
migration and affected the desert eco-system.
The hunting of Houbara bustards, taxonomically
classified as Clamydotis undulata, through falconry in Pakistan has led to
an alarming decline in their numbers. The poaching mainly in Sindh province
along the international border is not only a cause of serious concern for India
but also in violation of wildlife protection laws and international
conventions. The Tourism & Wildlife Society of India has pointed out in a
letter to External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid that the desert regions of
Rajasthan and Gujarat are not benefiting from the rare birds as a result of
their hunting in Pakistan. The species has been declared vulnerable due to a
more than 60 per cent decline in its global population even as India's share in
the Houbara's migration is “bagged” in the neighbouring country.
TWSI honorary general secretary Harsh Vardhan
has requested Mr. Khurshid to intervene and ensure that Pakistan imposes a
complete ban on “wanton falconry” as such acts amount to a “brazen mockery” of
the conservation legislation.
India invited similar falconry during 1970s when
the Arab royals used to camp in western Rajasthan districts and hunt the great
Indian bustards, Houbara bustards and other endangered birds. This practice was
brought to a halt forever in 1978-79 through public protests in Jaipur, New
Delhi and Mumbai and finally through a stay order granted by the Rajasthan High
Court.
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