November 6, 2001	Tuesday	Shaba’an 19, 1422

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MITHI, Nov 5: The district council, Tharparkar, has sought a report from the game warden of the district regarding illegal hunting and poaching. Besides, he has directed the Nazims of union councils to formulate committees in villages to keep an eye on illegal hunting and poaching for the protection of endangered species.

It would be relevant to mention here that a good number of peacocks were found almost in every village of Thar before the Indo-Pak war of 1971 because the people, particularly the Thakurs, used to prohibit visitors from poaching peacocks and other birds.

Some of the members of the district council Tharparkar and taluka council Diplo pointed out that peacocks, falcons, mongooses, etc., which killed snakes and other poisonous reptiles were no more found in many villages of Thar owing to hunting and poaching on a large-scale which had led to an increase in the population of snakes.

These councils passed several resolutions demanding the government to impose complete ban on the hunting and trapping of these endangered and protected species besides taking strict measures against the violators of the wildlife protection act.

A number of members of the local councils as well as social circles of Thar have expressed serious concern over the flawed policies of the wildlife department which has continued issuing hunting permits to influential people and sheikhs from the Gulf states on an annual basis as a result of which some of the rare wildlife species have been completely wiped out from Thar. Besides, others have become endangered as a result of this.