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Poachers Continue to Threaten Environment

Poachers Continue to Threaten Environment
Poachers Continue to Threaten Environment

Two poachers were arrested some time ago while hunting in the Sabz Kooh Protected Area, Shahram Ahmadi, CEO of the Department of Environment (DoE) of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province said.

In an area of 56,000 hectares, the protected area encompasses Kiar county, and the cities of Borujen and Lordegan.

Two vz. 24 rifles and a dead wild goat were confiscated and the poachers were handed over to judicial officials, IRNA reported.

The DoE in a report  had issued a warning long ago that 74 species in the country have been placed on the red list of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. These include the Asiatic Cheetah, the Iranian yellow deer, and the onager. The list also includes many amphibians, reptiles, birds and fish. Environmentalists worry that the fate of these species will be like that of the Asiatic lion, which completely disappeared from Iran several decades ago.

 Rapid Decline

The DoE has identified urban development and human activities as the most significant factors in the rapid decline of many wildlife species, including the “availability of illegal weapons and the trade in wild animals and animal body parts.”

Since the report was released, several local hunters who killed to feed their families have sworn off hunting; however, the locals were not the ones who sold the game or made a living from hunting. The poachers were the ones hunting and selling specific species that are illegal to hunt.

Over the past few years, the authorities also have been issuing gun permits and hunting licenses easily. Irresponsible hunters, at times obtain gun licenses but not hunting permits, and kill whatever they come across unscrupulously – including foxes, wolves and tigers, even though all these are on the verge of extinction.

 Census

Animal population and diversity censuses for autumn were carried out and successfully completed in Firuzkuh, Reza Karami, the CEO of the Firuzkuh DoE said.

In addition to Kaveh Deh Protected Area, other natural environment sites and free zones were also monitored within the region. The goal was to collect data and statistics on the region’s wildlife in terms of number and diversity, and then compare results to previous years.

Rangers, NGOs, and nature-lovers all joined in the census which was carried over five days.

More than 2000 rams, ibex, and mountain goats were counted. Also hunting birds, partridges, wolves, rabbits, wild hogs, and leopards were sighted.

Inspecting the vegetation of the habitats, identifying potential risk factors, devising better plans for preserving plants and animals, were also carried out in line with the census.

The census is conducted twice a year, once in summer and once in autumn. The previous census was in August 2014.

Financialtribune.com