Minister calls for check on smuggling of wildlife species

Islamabad: Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Mushahidullah Khan has urged the provincial wildlife department officials to boost their efforts to control the wave of smuggling of wildlife species, particularly turtles and tortoises.
“It is a matter of grave concern that the wildlife smuggling has escalated significantly in recent years. The provincial wildlife departments’ efforts for foiling a number of wildlife smuggling bids in recent months merit appreciation,” he said while chairing a high-level meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) Management Authority.
The minister noted that the prime motivating factor for wildlife traders is economic gains — ranging from small scale local income generation to major profit-oriented business, such as marine fisheries and logging companies.
The smuggling of wildlife species, particularly those that are endangered, can be stopped only through implementation of the relevant laws and imposition of fines, he underlined. The federal minister, however, called for revising fines upward and making the wildlife protection laws more stringent to put an end to the smuggling of wildlife.