Bangladesh bans air rifles to protect migratory birds

DHAKA: Bangladesh has banned air rifles to guard a whole bunch of susceptible chook species, a high environmental official mentioned on Thursday, as flocks of migratory birds arrive within the nation to outlive the winter months in a hotter local weather.

Bangladesh has greater than 700 chook species, 388 of them migratory birds coming from China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Uzbekistan, in keeping with Bangladesh Fowl Membership information.

The variety of migratory birds, which spend on common seven months within the nation, has been declining as a consequence of local weather change and unlawful looking. Authorities estimate that 125,000 migratory birds flew to Bangladesh this yr, 20,000 lower than throughout the earlier winter. Whereas wildlife looking was outlawed in Bangladesh greater than three a long time in the past, air weapons remained authorized as they didn’t fall underneath the “deadly weapon” class. The federal government ban on carrying and utilizing air rifles got here into impact on Wednesday.

“This is part of our persevering with efforts to protect wildlife. The choice to ban air weapons will assist in defending each migratory and homegrown birds,” Deputy Chief Conservator of Forests Mohammad Jahidul Kabir instructed Arab Information.

“There are some migratory birds which can be thought-about critically endangered all through the world and it’s our obligation to guard these birds.”

The transfer was welcomed by environmentalists, who’re urging the federal government to extend fines and jail phrases for poachers.

“We now have been asking for air weapons to be banned for round a decade. It’s excellent news that the federal government has lastly taken the choice,” Abdul Karim, a central committee member of the Bangladesh Environmental Motion, instructed Arab Information.

“The authorities ought to think about harder punishments,” he mentioned. “Poachers are nonetheless capturing the birds in numerous methods. Generally they use internet traps to catch the birds alive and promote them.” 

Beneath the nation’s wildlife safety legal guidelines, the utmost punishment is a yr’s imprisonment and a high quality of $1,200.

The previous nation director of the Worldwide Union for Conservation of Nature, Prof. Niaz Ahmed Khan, mentioned it was the primary time the Bangladeshi authorities had banned the usage of pneumatic weapons.

“The choice may be very a lot logical,” he mentioned, however bans alone are usually not sufficient.

“Authorities has created many sanctuaries for the wildlife and birds. However regulation and authorities initiatives alone are usually not sufficient on this regard,” Khan instructed Arab Information.

“The federal government ought to embrace the message concerning the significance of defending nature in class textbooks,” he mentioned.

“We have to have extra individuals’s engagement and the youthful era must be concerned on this course of.”