Lahore High Court (LHC) refused permission to hunt down migratory birds, till the middle of March 2009 as banned by Wildlife Department Punjab. The application was filed by Saeed Nasim Cheema whose main petition was already pending before the court challenging the blanket prohibition for hunting birds.
He contended that they do not have a permanent stay in Pakistan and return to their homeland on the commencement of summer season in Pakistan, therefore, a blanket ban of hunting these birds was uncalled.
During the course of hearing Under Secretary Wildlife and Deputy Director Publicity Wildlife & Parks stated that notification and order under challenge was issued by the government of Punjab pursuant to enactment of the Punjab Wildlife (Protection, Preservation, Conservation and Management) Amendment Act, 2007 which permits hunting of birds from October 15, 2008 to February 15, 2009 on Sundays only observing the bag limit.
They said that this action was necessary to protect wildlife, which is on the verge of extinction and if remedial measures were not taken it would result into annihilation of wildlife which would also have devastating effects on the environment. The court observed that interim relief which tantamount to granting final relief cannot be granted, thus if the relief is granted it would virtually amount to grant of the constitutional petition, therefore, the same cannot be accorded at this juncture.
No embargo has been placed on the government to regulate the hunting season or adopt appropriate remedial measures to ward off extinction of animals and birds. Therefore the respondent officials have acted within their domain and jurisdiction by regulating the hunting season and the order is meant to strike an environmental balance and save wildlife from extinction, this is not violative of the precedent referred to, the court held while dismissing the application.