Rangers foil hunting attempt

Two poachers in custody, fines imposed

The Park Rangers of Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB), with the assistance of Punjab Wildlife Department, has conducted a successful operation against poachers near the eastern border of Margalla Hills National Park.

According to the IWMB, a special team of Park Rangers, led by the Wildlife director, assistant director, and supervisors, traced the poachers while acting on the information shared by local sources.

“Eight hunters with their rifles were lying in ambush on the eastern border of the National Park to hunt wild deer and wildfowl (kaleej pheasant),” an IWMB official told APP. The park rangers carried out a successful operation and took two poachers into custody along with their weapons, while the others managed to escape.

The wildlife authorities imposed a fine of Rs120,000 on hunters for possessing illegal rifles and handed them over to the Punjab Wildlife Department for further legal action. The IWMB official said that the area of the National Park from where the accused were arrested, was close to Punjab’s Murree tehsil, and the accused reportedly came from that area.

The Punjab Wildlife Department was well aware of the area and its surroundings. It assisted the IWMB to trace the hunters, making the operation successful, he added. Earlier, the IWMB foiled an illegal hunting attempt within the premises of Islamabad Club and confiscated the hounds used in boar hunting.

The action was also taken on a tip-off from an informer who noticed suspicious activity in the forest area adjacent to the Islamabad Club. As per the Wildlife Ordinance, hunting was strictly prohibited within the limits of Islamabad and its protected area of Margalla Hills National Park whereas the incident site was also part of the protected area.

The wildlife authorities imposed a fine of Rs120,000 on hunters for possessing illegal rifles and handed them over to the Punjab Wildlife Department for further legal action.