In Peshawar, snakes are sold in the open — a threat to wildlife
Conservationists worried over alarming trend at Peshawar market
Sporting a white beard and wearing a matching cap, an old man in his late sixties with a writhing snake in his hands is the focus of pedestrians at the busy and congested Qissa Khawani bazaar of Peshawar city.
The light brown-coloured reptile with dark black dots dangling from his hand is on sale for a nominal price of Rs1,000 (Dh23.8).
As soon as Mubarak Shah had the attention of the passersby, he quickly put it back into a cloth bag he was carrying to avoid the watchful eyes of authorities. Two young boys were showing interest in the snake, and Shah expressed his willingness to sell the snake for Rs800.
The snake can be fed with anything, but it likes milk, Shah said replying to an onlooker who queried how to feed the snake. Another was concerned over the dangers of snake bite, but Shah claimed that he has read some Quranic verses because of which the reptile will not bite anyone.
Shah refused to disclose from where he caught the snake but said he generally hunts for them mostly in merged districts, including Bajaur. “Sometimes I also catch snakes from Peshawar,” he hastened to add.
“Whenever someone calls me to catch a snake from his home, office or business place, I go there and capture it.”
Alarming trend
Shah also apprised that people show interest in purchasing snake mostly for fun and he easily find buyers while roaming in different markets and streets of Peshawar.
Dr. Farah Zaidi, Assistant Professor Zoology Department Peshawar University, after looking at a photograph of the snake said it might be a a rare species found in deserts.
The rising trend of wildlife trade in the country signifies a heightened threat to wild animals and reptiles.
The prominent e-bay sites on social media are full of advertisements for sale of different kinds of birds, animals and reptiles both local and exotic.
The business of caged birds is also growing in big cities without any check, and shopkeepers openly keep beautiful birds in iron cages for sale without no fear of wildlife authorities.
According to United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) wildlife crime is the third largest transnational crime after drugs, human trafficking and generates around $20 billion annually. Due to lack of any study in Pakistan the loss of wildlife due to its trade cannot be assessed, but according to experts it is enormous.
A recent study conducted by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Pakistan after undercover survey of different markets in different cities, found that 55 wildlife species are on sale in markets of which 40 per cent comprised of mammals, 39 per cent birds, 19 per cent reptiles, two per cent belonged to invertebrates.
The study made an observation that illegal wildlife trade through websites extended to a large range of cities and provinces. The study also made a startling disclosure that “consumption of dried meat of Indian Cobra and Indian Lizard is recorded to be widespread in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab”.
The Wildlife Department of KP is working over regulating cage business in the province and in this connection licenses would be issued to authorised dealers.