Gilgit-Baltistan Wildlife Department seeks bids for hunting license

It seems to send out a clear message that trophy hunting is Islamic, and well rooted in the norms of this region. The hunters are invited to wipe out what ever remains of the wildlife in the area as they are already facing extinction, as any respected environmental organisation will attest, rather than attracting the lovers of wildlife who would come to the region again and again. Once they are gone, like your forests of priceless species of trees, the hunters are gone, the wildlife watchers, scientists and enthusiasts are gone, the organisations that assisted the wildlife activities are gone, so called ‘eco tourism is gone, what will be next on the cards? Will you hunt your females and children too? Wildlife is the goose that lays the golden egg and there is an industry that revolves around it, providing jobs, bringing tourists to the guides, hotels, educational oportunities and also putting the region on the world map for priceless, exotic species to be found nowhere else and there are tourists who would die to see them.

The Chitralis came around, and want their region to flourish unlike yourselves. Clearly, you have not been reading articles on global warming and the need to preserve the ecosystems and the biodiversity. Greed, opportunism, and entrenched corruption can be percieved behind this advert.

The causes of your social and financial problems lie elsewhere and not with the animals that are being hunted mercilessly in own environments which are being encroached and disappearing fast. Therefore, hunting them down will not make these problems go away. There is a population explosion which went unchecked for decades all over Pakistan, for starters. The health service had been negilgent in alerting you and implementing mandatory family planning. There is also rampant corruption and break down of the law and order system in your region. All of these and other related problems need to be tackled. The stress on your region is immense as more and more is being taken out while the input is less.

Hunting is preserve of idle, (corrupt) rich and your Wildlife Dept is causing mischief by inviting the hunters, both foreign and Pakistani to hunt down rare, exotic and very expensive wildlife, and they will leave, once their egos are satisfied, but leaving the environment bereft of its gems. The wildlife in your area is facing extinction as the number of species is beyond recovery.