Houbara Bustard

Why in news?

• Eleven members of the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) royal family arrived in Pakistan’s Panjgur district in Balochistan on Saturday to hunt the internationally protected and highly vulnerable houbara bustard under a license issued by Pakistan’s foreign ministry.

About the Bustard:

• The houbara bustard is a large terrestrial bird found in parts of Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
• The North African houbara (Chlamydotis undulata) and the Asian houbara (Chlamydotis macqueenii) are separate species.
• It is considered vulnerable as per IUCN Red data book.
• The Asian houbara is related to the critically endangered great Indian bustard native to India.
• After breeding in Central Asia during the spring, Asian houbara bustards migrate south to spend the winter in Pakistan, the Arabian peninsula and nearby Southwest Asia.
• Some Asian houbara bustards live and breed in the southern part of their ranges including parts of Iran, Pakistan and Turkmenistan.
• According to the International Fund for Houbara Conservation (IFHC), roughly 42,000 Asian houbara bustards and over 22,000 of the North African houbara bustards remain today.
• The main reasons for the decline in the species’ population are poaching, unregulated hunting and the degradation of its natural habitat, the IFHC website states.

Why is the houbara bustard hunted in Pakistan?

• Vast swathes of land in Pakistan are allocated in blocks to wealthy dignitaries from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, who arrive in the country to hunt the birds every year using hunting gear and falcons.
• They kill the bird for sport and also because its meat is supposed to have aphrodisiac qualities.
• Media coverage is not permitted of these secretive hunting expeditions, but the scale of each hunt is believed to be considerable, leading to criticisms by conservationists.

PRELIMS QUESTION

Consider the following statements regarding Houbara Bustard:
1.It is endemic to Pakistan.
2.It is considered critically endangered.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a)1 only
(b)2 only
(c)Both 1 and 2
(d)Neither 1 nor 2

Answer to Prelims Question