Park rangers serving prison sentences for causing gun injury during their patrols will be released on the back of a special budget allotted by the government to pay compensation to the victims.
The directive, which was approved by the Cabinet early in July, earmarked 30 billion rials ($0.7 million) of budget to cover such unpredicted costs as blood money, losses inflicted by wildlife on park rangers, farmers and owners of gardens.
A sum of 18 billion rials ($0.4 m) from the total fund has been supplied to pay the blood money of those who were killed in conflicts with park rangers while on their duty since 2015, Fars News Agency quoted Colonel Jamshid Mohabbatkhani, head of Department of Environment’s Protection Unit, as saying.
“According to the Constitution, the government is bound to pay the compensatory money to those harmed by the unintentional use of gun by park rangers and environment protectors during their duty,” Mohabbatkhani said, adding that thanks to the injected budget, those park rangers charged with manslaughter or injury will be set free.
The budget had not been disbursed by the government since 2015, the official said.
Although the use of gun by park rangers during their work time has repeatedly imposed financial costs on them, from legal fees to possible compensation demanded by the family of poachers because of bodily harm or loss of life, the rangers themselves have in most cases been the victim.
A bill to support park rangers drafted by the Department of Environment in July 2016 is still pending parliamentary approval.
