Govt to introduce new wildlife act

Islamabad: The Punjab government has decided to introduce new wildlife act to discourage poaching and sale of birds on commercial basis.

According to the details, the Punjab Wildlife Department has approached consultants from the private sector to shape up new law that would ensure effective punishments to those who would be found involved in poaching and selling of birds. The details showed that the Wildlife Department would make some changes in the current law unless new Wildlife Act is introduced in the coming months to cope with the rising challenges related to protection of wildlife animal and bird species.

An official said the people must realize their responsibility because they purchase the birds and free them considering it an act of benevolence or to ‘cast away evil’ that encourages poaching and selling of birds in sheer violation of laws. He said the people get captured birds freed and think that act of liberating the birds is a source of virtue and an act of charity, adding “These people feel a sense of gratification when they see the birds fly away from their confines.”

It is pertinent to mention here that the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) has already launched a massive crackdown and its teams raid markets and commercial centres and get caged birds especially house sparrows freed and take action against their sellers. Secretary of Punjab Wildlife Department Shahid Zaman has said “The existing laws are not strict enough to punish poachers and sellers of birds so we have decided to introduce new and effective Wildlife Act in consultation with the wildlife experts.”