Hunting is permitted in Islam only when necessary for food. Taking the life of an animal for sport, without intending to eat from it or otherwise benefit from it, is prohibited.
By Prof Dr Abdullah G Arijo
Cruelty is the other term for hunting, and it is never a game/sport. To you, it may be just a game, but for the animals, it is the end of their existence. Almost everywhere, including Pakistan, animal hunting is ranked as a game and shooting are licensed for a meagre capital, which is easily payable when it comes to wealthy Arabs, who fly miles and hire camps in Pakistan for hunting the innocent animals most of the precious species.
Wildlife department must check their nerves and re-think on their poster on wildlife hunting of precious species at whatever cost. I wonder how hunters are excited by the opportunity to kill defenseless wildlife. And, I also can’t believe that state authorities permit the cruelty of hunting of all wildlife, while there are so much animal right activities and activists.
It seems a nonsense act when authorities provide trophy hunts for those who get a thrill from killing and want to hang a trophy on their wall. Many kinds and sensible people in various parts of the world do complain, but they are ignored by the state and its legislators. What a heartbreaking and undemocratic situation.
Honestly, all hunters should be jailed for animal cruelty. But provinces want hunters because the more hunters they have, the more money they get. When it comes to Arab hunters, off the record permits are granted and regulations are made just a bookish thing.
With diversified landscapes, Pakistan is blessed with a variety of wildlife all over the country. The country is consecrated with one of the finest and rarest species of animals. Where to hunt in Pakistan with rare animals like Markhor, Urial and Ibex. Moreover, many other seasonal birds finding shelter from Siberian winds also find their home in the heart of the country.
Hunting in Pakistan is promoted in such rare breeds of the country. Although it is well-supervised by the Govt. of Pakistan, hunting is still considered a sport in the state. Many rare species, like Markhor, can only be legally hunted in the State of Pakistan with special permission allowed by the Govt. of Pakistan. The Govt. of Pakistan has developed the best places to hunt in Pakistan in game reserve throughout different areas of the country to supervise hunting in Pakistan. So important question arises with what to hunt in Pakistan?
Punjab province of Pakistan offers climatic shelter to migrating bird travelling from Siberia and Russia during winters. Hundreds of species of birds travel towards the warmer regions of south Punjab to get shelter from the intense climate of the north pole. Although many endangered species like Houbara Bustard has been marked illegal to hunt in Pakistan recently, some species are still legal to hunt in the country.
Domestic birds widely populate Sindh. These birds are used to warm weather conditions and are bred in large numbers. District of Thatta and a coastal line of Karachi are very popular spots for hunting these birds. Partridge, locally referred to as Teeter are hunted throughout the Sindh in large numbers. Many species namely Sandgrouse or Black Partridge of the family are also hunted throughout the province of Sindh. These birds are legal to hunt in only one season throughout the year. It is considered illegal to captivate or hunt partridges once the hunting season is over. The season starts in mid-November which lasts till the end of January of next year, but the game is never over.
Government of Pakistan promotes supervised hunting throughout Pakistan. The licenses for hunting purposes have a hefty fee and quite expensive. But even with these fees, hunting these animals in Pakistan is still an experience in its own. Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife overlooks the wild game hunting in Pakistan and provides legal authority to hunters for their games.
Much of the hunting in Pakistan is legal on different animals. Another legality involves regulations specific to the animals. Alongside every other experience in Pakistan, wildlife hunting in Pakistan is an energetic experience. So, let us boost our adrenaline with these hunting expeditions throughout Pakistan and explore the country more and more.
Wildlife conservation is the practice of protecting animal species and their habitats. It is achieved partially through legislation such as the Endangered Species Act, the establishment and protection of public lands, and responsible public practices that conserve wild animal populations.
Maintaining biodiversity with rural community development has been a project of high importance.
The principal aim of this project is to test if conservation of Pakistan’s biodiversity can be enhanced by providing rural communities with the technical skills and necessary legal empowerment to manage wild species and habitat for long term sustainable use (IUCN, GoP and UNDP, 1999).
IUCN-Pakistan and the Government of NWFP’s Wildlife Department jointly implemented this project. Rural communities were active partners in this project and over 40 villages were involved in the first two years. During the process, the objectives of the project were achieved in collaboration with the active involvement of the local communities in both areas: KPK and NAs. The technical skills of the rural communities were enhanced in various aspects of the project activities which have resulted in the successful harvest of their wild species generating revenue for them, without jeopardizing their population status.
Legal empowerment has been provided through the establishment of institutional mechanisms for collaborative management of wild species with the participation of local communities and government staff. These mechanisms include joint management committees and valley level wildlife conservation plans. The hypothesis was approved in this approach that enhanced technical capacity which leads to the conservation of biodiversity.
Hunters cause injuries, pain and suffering to animals who are not adapted to defend themselves from bullets, traps and other cruel killing devices. Hunting destroys animal families and habitats and leaves terrified and dependent baby animals behind to starve to death.
Hunting is always a murderous business. It may have played an important role, next to plant gathering and scavenging, for human survival in prehistoric times, but most modern hunters in developed countries stalk and kill animals for recreation. Hunting is a violent and cowardly form of outdoor entertainment that kills hundreds of millions of animals every year, many of whom are wounded and die a slow and painful death.
Hunters cause injuries, pain and suffering to animals who are not adapted to defend themselves from bullets, traps and other cruel killing devices. Hunting destroys animal families and habitats and leaves terrified and dependent baby animals behind to starve to death.
Hunting game animals has become a lavish business because wildlife agencies use hunting, trapping and fishing licenses as a source of income, today’s wildlife management actively promotes the killing of wild animals, and joined by a powerful hunting lobby even sells wildlife trophy hunts to those who enjoy killing them.
Hunting is termed as “sport,” just to disguise a cruel, needless killing spree as a socially acceptable activity. However, the concept of sport involves competition between two agreeable parties, obedience to rules and fairness guaranteed by an intervening arbitrator never aimed at death. In hunting, the animal is forced to “participate” in a live-or-die situation that always leads to the death of the animal, whereas the hunter leaves, their life never remotely at stake.
Let us realize that, all flora and fauna are the creation of almighty Allah and play role in the ecosystem. Disturbing them will ultimately harm our habitat what we call planet earth.
In a bid to preserve biodiversity and enhance safety measures for the endangered species, the Wildlife Department must impose a ban on the hunting of all precious species of birds, reptiles and mammals, or indiscriminate hunting will act as factor responsible for vanishing the very existence of endangered animal species.