The Qatari Royal hunting excursion went down just before it could begin in Tharparkar when they were not granted the permission to kill endangered (Endangered in Pakistan, Vulnerable globally) Houbara bustards. The Qatari prince and his team had intended to establish hunting base camp that would have lasted till the end of February but fortunately for the birds, they were denied hunting license. The birds have been placed on the ‘red list’ of endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Although hunting is banned, the Pakistan government regularly issues special hunting permits to Arab Royal families from the Middle East, naming it a foundation of foreign policy. Chlamydotis Macqueenii or the Asian Houbara is native to Pakistan but unfortunately for the birds, almost 50% of their world’s population roams in this region where they are being hunt down brutally at a rapid rate. It is very unfortunate that Thousands of individuals of this species are hunted and caught every year in Pakistan. This is done both illegally and under license given by the Punjab government. This is the reason and observations; the population is anticipated to be going down by 30-49% over he last 20 years window, making the number bigger from the past into the future.
The major threat to the bustards is from hunting mainly with falconry, principally but not entirely on the species’s wintering grounds. A lot of individuals are caught by setting traps, primarily in Pakistan and Iran, and crafted to Arabs country of the Middle East for use in the falcons hunting skills development. In 2014 an unlawful consignment of 250 bustards was seized on way from Pakistan to Bahrain. In other areas of the region, rapid petroleum related industrial development has limited the accessibility of natural habitats and additional made life worse for the species.