MULTAN: Three teams of the Dera Ghazi Khan wildlife department and a team of the Multan wildlife department on Tuesday were sent to areas around the Indus and Chenab rivers to check the illegal hunting of migratory birds.
Multan Divisional Wildlife Officer Sajjad Hussain said that the teams were formed after receiving complaints that poachers were roaming about the riverine areas in parts of Muzaffargarh and hunting migratory birds returning to Siberia.
The migratory birds reach wetlands, ponds in Pakistan to escape the freezing winter season of Siberia every year and return as soon as the winter season ends.
“The winter season is ending and the stay of the migratory birds in Pakistan would last for only a week or ten days,” Sajjad said while adding that the birds were now flying back to Siberia and poachers were hunting them when they landed at any wetland to take a nap or to feed on the vegetation.
A team consisting wildlife inspector and other officials last Monday started checking water locations around the Indus river from the Taunsa barrage to the downstream Muzaffargarh.
“Rajanpur wildlife department’s team has started patrolling Indus river areas from Jampur to Kot Chutta, the DG Khan team from Ghazi Ghat to Shah Sadar Deen and Kachchi canal from Tuesday,” Sajjad said and added that another team of the Multan wildlife department would patrol water locations like ponds in areas near the Chenab river.
