PESHAWAR:Wildlife Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa smuggling bid of falcons and recovered three precious Peregrine falcons from a person Hizar Hayat son of Allah Dad, Muhallah New Apozai Town, Tehsil & District Zhob, Balochistan, said an official handout issued here on Thursday.
The birds were being smuggled from Balochistan to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A case has been registered against the offender under the provisions of Wildlife and Biodiversity Act, 2015. Later, the Commissioner D.I.Khan released those falcons.
In another similar case, the SDFO Wildlife Bara, Khyber Mr. Rizwan Ullah and SDFO Wildlife Peshawar, Naveed Ahmad confiscated two Peregrine falcons Pak-Afghan border at Torkham.
These two birds were being smuggled from Afghanistan to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. These birds will also be released in suitable habitat.
Peregrine Falcon is highly endangered migratory bird which is protected under Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Wildlife & Biodiversity Act, 2015.
Estimated value of these confiscated falcons are in millions of rupees and such confiscation and release back into wilderness is a concrete step to discourage the smugglers involved in illegal trade of Wildlife.
It is pertinent to mention that falcon trapping, import and export has been banned since 2005 due to their dwindling population in the wild.
The species is protected under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Wildlife and Biodiversity Act, 2015. Import and export is discouraged under international treaties and conventions especially Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES).