T

he indiscriminate hunting of endangered houbara bustard birds in Pakistan by rich hunting parties from the Gulf nations have pushed the species toward extinction. The hunting was initially banned by the Pakistani courts, but under continuous pressure from the provincial governments of Sind, Baluchistan and Punjab, as well as the federal government, recently the courts lifted the ban on the hunting of this vulnerable species.

Some people in Pakistan have been advocating for sustainable hunting of the species instead of a complete ban, but this is highly debatable. Reckless hunting for decades has pushed this beautiful species toward extinction and it is now critically endangered in Pakistan.

No reliable or credible statistics on the population dynamics of the species are available either. Unless specially protected by law, the species runs the risk of becoming extinct in the wild in the next few decades.

Under these circumstances, the only logical approach to save the species from extinction in the not-so-distant future is to immediately start comprehensive captive breeding program for the species across the nation.

If the captive breeding program runs successfully and produces an appreciable number of chicks, then reintroduction programs could be initiated in their wild habitats.

Only after rebuilding the population for some time in the wild and allowing them to breed naturally to reach a sustainable population could some restricted hunting be planned. Currently, the low numbers have made this species vulnerable and with zero or poor monitoring, sustainable hunting practices in Pakistan for this dwindling species will not work.

Game hunting works only when a stable population is achieved with strict monitoring on the ratio of males to females hunted per season. If the females (no true statistics available) are being taken out of the population through random hunting, the population is sure to pass through a bottleneck in the wild habitat, with high vulnerability to eventual extinction.

The people of Pakistan need to decide what is more important-a few petrodollars or protecting the biodiversity of the nation.

Saikat Kumar Basu                                   
Lethbridge, Canada