LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday imposed a ban on the hunting of blackbucks in the Punjab region.
A single-member bench of the high court comprising Justice Abid Aziz Shaikh issued a 17-page verdict in the case. The bench also ordered the provincial government to take substantial steps to ensure the protection of the protected species across the province.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) declared blackbuck as a “near vanished” species in 2008 and hence it was vulnerable and its hunting was prohibited.
The bench directed the concerned commission headed by Dr. Pervez Hassan to submit its report every six months in the court.
The animals are an essential part of our environment and leaving them unprotected is a violation of their fundamental rights, the court remarked.
The petition said that the government not taking proper steps for the protection of blackbucks adding that the population of the animal is deteriorating due to the issuance of illegal hunting permits and lack of safety measures.
It further pleaded that the provincial government was negligent over the matter. The blackbucks in the Cholistan desert and the Lal Suhanra Park in Bahawalpur are deteriorating.
The high court recently announced a verdict, directing the Punjab government to take safety precautionary measures in order to protect blackbucks.
