Another feather in wildlife dept’s cap

ISLAMABAD, March 18: We mostly feel pride in hunting down migratory ducks and displaying their beaks on the walls of our houses. And same is the case with the horns of the more pricey markhor or ibex declared endangered species. However, despite a ban on the hunting of these birds and animals, there have been cases of rampant violations of the law mostly by those who are supposed to get the law implemented. With all said about a recent case of a dinner at the PTDC Motel in Chitral with the meat of a markhor arranged for government officers, here comes another revelation that a district administration officer is now openly using a repeater to kill migratory ducks in the Shotar of Chitral on a permit issued to him for an ordinary gun. The mass shooting of the ducks through the repeater by Hafiz Saad Qaisarani, the assistant commissioner, along with some other influential people of the area is in full swing at Balach shotar, said witnesses while talking to ChitralToday on the condition of anonymity. The witnesses claimed that some influential of the area who were very fond of duck hunting were also busy in mass killing of the ducks. They said the people were killing the birds with the latest weapons which were clearly prohibited in the hunting permit. When contacted, Imtiaz Hussain, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Wildlife Chitral, said after receiving reports from different sources he warned the assistant commissioner not to use repeater for hunting the ducks as he held a permit for an ordinary gun. He said the warning from the department angered the assistant commissioner who was believed to be an expert hunter. Later, the DFO added, he personally met the assistant commissioner and asked him to stop hunting the ducks by the repeater. This helped in wooing the assistant commissioner who assured the wildlife department that he would not use the repeater for hunting the Siberian ducks in future. The DFO said if the direction was violated again, his department would approach the police for action against the AC. A senior police officer, who wished not to be named, told ChitralToday that unless they got a formal request from the Wildlife Department they cannot take action on their own. When contacted, Hafiz Saad Qaisarani, the assistant commissioner, denied using a repeater for hunting ducks but did confirm of having a legal permit for hunting. “The hunting is not illegal, yes I do go for hunting as I’ve got a legal permit,” he contended. When asked about the allegations of mass duck hunting through a repeater, the AC said he had no such weapon, adding he had nothing to say about mass shooting of ducks in Chitral, but repeated that hunting was not illegal.]]>