100 MacQueen's Bustards smuggled in Iranian ship

Earlier this month, coast guards in Kuwait intercepted a ship attempting to smuggle 100 Asian MacQueen's Bustards Chlamydotis macqueenii, recognized as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. The species is threatened by hunting and trapping throughout its range, particularly in its wintering habitat of Pakistan and Iran. The bird is in high demand in the region for use as live prey in falconry training.

In a press statement issued by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior, the Public Relations and Security Media Department explained that the Coast Guard Department was inspecting foreign ships that were heading to Doha Port, when they discovered the Iranian ship with its load of birds. Also discovered on board were 16 falcons of various species, mostly Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus. 

Kuwait Environment Protection Society (KEPS– BirdLife International’s Kuwaiti partner) investigated the case and confirmed that all the birds on board had been poached from the wild and were being transported without any legal documents. The offenders are currently in custody and will be dealt with according to Kuwaiti law. Commenting on the issue, Wejdan Al-Oqab, KEPS Secretary General, says “There are hundreds of birds, including MacQueen's Bustard and eagles, illegally killed every year”. 

“We are working hard to protect threatened animal populations and work closely with law enforcement agencies to protect biodiversity and enforce national and international wildlife laws to ensure that the trade of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival”. 

Numbers of MacQueen's Bustard have fallen dramatically in recent decades. The species is threatened by a number of factors, including the degradation of their vegetation habitat by livestock grazing, but hunting remains the biggest threat to its future. 

The species is protected under international wildlife treaties. The Asian MacQueen's Bustard is roughly the same size as a turkey and typically has a large, speckled sandy brown upper body, a creamy white underside and long legs, a slender neck and a wingspan that can reach 1.5 meters. Its colouring acts as camouflage in the desert and sandy plains, providing a challenge for hunters and their falcons. 

The MacQueen's Bustard is the game bird of choice for Arab falconers, because it is a good match for the falcons. There is such strong demand for the bird in the region that some hunters are willing to use illicit means to acquire them. 

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Pigeon sold at Kuwaiti auction for £58,000

Some on social media reacted with disdain at the amount spent on the bird.

By Staff Reporter

August 26, 2016 17:57 BST

    

A pigeon has sold at auction in Kuwait for KD23,000 (£58,000) leading to criticism on social media at the extortionate price for the bird. A viral video of the auction, where the crowd grew enthusiastic with the rising price, became widely shared.

According to Gulf News, the pigeon is a kind known locally as "gallabi" – a roller pigeon selected for their ability to roll in the air.

Posted by a local news site, the clip shows an auctioneer saying 23,000 (in Arabic) numerous times as the audience shuffles excitedly before the bidding ends to murmurs from the crowd.

A number of comments criticised the amount of money spent on the bird. One comment, translated by Gulf News, said "Such a figure would make sense only if the pigeon had gold wings."

Another said that the winning bidder had "a brain as small as a pigeon... He should have offered the money to the poor and the needy who would put it to a good use and help themselves, instead of wasting them on a bird."

Read on  

Migratory Bird Shot On Road - What Can Be Done To Prevent It?

KUWAIT CITY, Sept 16: The magnificent and statuesque Demoiselle Crane (Grus virgo) is a soaring migratory bird and is considered a vagrant in Kuwait, with only 8 confirmed records for this species. The first record was of 4 birds in 1954 and the last record was of 3 birds in 2012, so they are certainly not common nor annual visitors to Kuwait.

Demoiselle Cranes migrate in large flocks on a narrow front via specific routes and may travel vast distances without alighting to rest or feed. The autumn migration begins in late summer and generally they would only pass by on thermals high overhead, but occasionally bad weather or strong headwinds would force them to land to rest.

Like many other migratory birds, Demoiselle Cranes are under threat from habitat loss and degradation from agriculture across its range, as well as building of dams and drainage of wetlands, but also from shooters along their migration route and this was brought to light just this week, right here on our doorstep.

About 2 days back a single young (juvenile) Demoiselle Crane is observed walking along the pavement near TGIF on Gulf Road in Kuwait - it is probably exhausted and has been separated from the flock - but it appears to be walking and feeding oblivious to the cars rushing by on this very busy road.

Probably not many motorists even noticed this magnificent crane and what is (was) the 9th record of this species for Kuwait, but there were a few that did notice and admire a bird that they would probably never have seen before.

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BirdLife Critically Endangered birds needlessly killed in Kuwait

As regular readers of the RSPB Saving Species blog will know, the RSPB has been supporting work on the Critically Endangered Sociable Lapwing since 2005, and from 2011 has been acting as co-ordinator for the implementation of the International Single Species Action Plan for the species under a Memorandum of Cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Secretariat of the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA). We know from extensive research between 2004 and 2012 that Sociable Lapwings are declining due to low adult survival, which is almost certainly caused by being shot during migration. There is evidence from known stopover sites in northeastern Syria and some areas in Iraq from 2008 and 2009 that these birds are widely hunted by both locals and visiting falconers from the Gulf States.

The latest reports from the region are the first to confirm the killing of Sociable Lapwings in Kuwait. The birds appear to have been shot on 12th March. Tim Stowe, the RSPB's Director of International Operations, says: "Regrettably, this is the first confirmed hunting of Sociable Lapwings in Kuwait, and this latest information is of particular concern as these birds were returning to Kazakhstan where they would have started to breed in six weeks' time."

Read on: 

http://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=3689

Being smuggled out: Rare falcons’ trip to Kuwait cut short, freed in Pindi

ISLAMABAD: 

An attempt to smuggle two rare falcons out of country was foiled and a Kuwaiti arrested from Benazir Bhutto International Airport (BBIA) on Thursday.

This is the second attempt to smuggle rare species of birds that was thwarted by the Punjab Wildlife Department and the Airport Security Force (ASF) in seven months.

Officials said the birds were taken into custody at around 5am, after the suspect, Muhammad Ammar, was stopped during security check.

The suspect, who was wearing a loose trouser, was boarding a Kuwait-bound plane when the authorities stopped him for inspection. They found the birds tied to his legs. The birds were smaller than the ones previously seized by the department, said an official.

The suspect was detained for a few hours for an inquiry, during which he claimed the birds had been gifted to him. However, he confessed to his crime when he was produced before a magistrate later. The court fined him Rs300,000, while the birds were set free at Ayub National Park on court orders.

Continued:  http://tribune.com.pk/story/447149/being-smuggled-out-rare-falcons-trip-to-kuwait-cut-short-freed-in-pindi/