Posted on 04/24/2014 7:45:11 PM PDT by DogByte6RER
Saudi prince hunted endangered birds, Pakistan officials say
Karachi: A Saudi prince is alleged to have poached over 2,100 endangered and internationally protected birds in a 21-day hunting safari in southwest Pakistan's Balochistan province, bringing the focus back on the practice that has been taking place for long.
Last year in January, the hunting of endangered Houbara Bustards by members of Arab royal families in Pakistan had led to friction along the Indo-Pak frontier, with the BSF complaining about the firing.
Any firing near the border is a violation of norms and India's Border Security Force (BSF) had lodged protests with the Pakistan Rangers.
In the latest incident, Prince Fahd bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud hunted for 21 days using specially trained falcons ? from January 11, 2014 to January 31 ? and hunted 1,977 birds, while other members of his party hunted an additional 123 birds, bringing the total bustard toll to 2,100.
These finds were part of a report titled 'Visit of Prince Fahd bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud regarding hunting of Houbara Bustards' prepared by Jaffar Baloch, divisional forest officer of the Balochistan forest and wildlife department, Chagai at Dalbandin, Dawn News reported.
The hunting of the globally protected bird is banned in Pakistan also, but the federal government issued special permits to Gulf states' royals.
Permits, which are person specific and could not be used by anyone else, allow the holders to hunt up to 100 Houbara Bustards in 10 days in the area allocated, excluding reserved and protected areas.
According to a media report in November last year, the federal government had issued 33 special permits to dignitaries of five countries of the Gulf region to hunt the Houbara Bustard during the hunting season in 2013-14.
In an annual migratory trend, thousands of bustards from cold climates come to the desert areas of Pakistan and South Asia every winter.
The bustards, prized for their meat with purportedly aphrodisiac qualities, are hunted mostly by Arab royals who are traditionally enthusiastic hunters.
During 2012-13, the Pakistan government issued 12 permits for about 815 trained hunting falcons for the royal families of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Qatar. Each permit allows a maximum of 100 birds to be hunted.
Where is PETA?!?
India should’a taken ‘em out - later claiming oopsie...
Forty years ago I read of a Saudi prince who machine gunned the last herd of some type antelope in Arabia.
Now they only live in zoos in the USA.
The Saudi Prince says that Mohammed told him to shoot those bustards!
I would love to go on a hunt just so I could yell,
“Shoot that bustard!”
“Each permit allows a maximum of 100 birds to be hunted.”
Well, OBVIOUSLY, His Royal Highness had 21 permits!
And if the ‘Sierra Club Royalty’ isn’t too busy waxing their BMWs, they MIGHT want to pick up the White Courtesy Phone in the Lobby!
What a ridiculous world we live in...
As an aside - are these Bustards as obnoxious as Canada Geese? If so, I say kill ‘em all! (Mightly tasty!)
They shot the wrong bustard.
Say a species is rare...and voila...a lab appears...and money abounds.
Anyone who wants to bag an endangered bird just needs to hang out under one of the green energy wind generators.
sirrrh derhhh ees much to do, sirrrh!
Well...it’s gotta be good to be prince.
Well After Purple Rain anyw....Oh not that prince...Nevermind ;)
It’s ok, he’s ruling class....
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