Licence to kill

IT seemed that sanity would prevail this year but the end result was quite the opposite. It was earlier reported that no special permits had been awarded this time round for the annual slaughter of the houbara bustard, an endangered migratory bird that is ostensibly protected under Pakistani and international law. However, it now transpires that Arab dignitaries have been awarded at least 27 permits for their wintertime shooting spree in Pakistan. Killing the houbara is illegal in this country — if you are Pakistani, that is — and that is the way the law should stand in perpetuity. That said, there must be a blanket ban on hunting the houbara and no exemptions should be made for Arab royals who covet the bird for its supposed aphrodisiac qualities. Each permit holder is expected not to exceed a set bag count but it is common knowledge that wildlife officials don’t have the wherewithal to keep the aristocrats in check. So what we get, year after year, is the massacre of a helpless little bird on the brink of extinction. Bag counts simply do not work. But that is perhaps neither here nor there because not a single houbara bustard ought to be killed by anyone, anywhere in this country.

The houbara’s migratory path once used to take it to the Gulf and beyond. But it was wiped out in the Arab states and now their dignitaries are bent, with the active support of the Pakistani state, on destroying what is left of the seasonal houbara population here. The problem with our wildlife and environmental protection laws is that they almost invariably come with riders that allow the authorities concerned to grant exemptions, permits for houbara hunting being a prime example. Laws are not enforceable when discretionary powers allow a government official to sanction the killing of an endangered species. This is not a sustainable approach and it is hoped that these loopholes will be noted and rectified by the country’s highest judicial authorities. This year’s slaughter of the houbara bustard has not started yet. It is not too late to prevent it.