Lahore buying snow

__________________________

📍 Verified store!

📍 Guarantees! Quality! Reviews!

__________________________

▼▼ ▼▼ ▼▼ ▼▼ ▼▼ ▼▼ ▼▼

▲▲ ▲▲ ▲▲ ▲▲ ▲▲ ▲▲ ▲▲

Lahore buying snow

A man has been arrested in Lahore for his involvement in the illegal sale of snow leopard skin. The arrest was made by the Punjab Wildlife Department as part of a broader effort to combat the trafficking of endangered animal products. The arrest followed a targeted raid conducted by wildlife officials at a private residence in a Lahore suburb. During the operation, authorities recovered a snow leopard skin, which is highly valued in the international market, worth around USD 20, Rs5. According to a spokesperson from the Punjab Wildlife Department, the accused was part of a network engaged in the illegal and underground sale of wildlife skins. This network used social media platforms to reach potential buyers, enabling the distribution of illegal wildlife products. She condemned the illegal trade of wildlife skins, stressing that such activities not only violate laws but also pose a severe threat to endangered species. Snow leopards, which are native to the mountainous regions of northern Pakistan, are classified as endangered. Estimates from the World Population Review indicate that the population in Pakistan ranges between and individuals. These solitary and elusive predators are adapted to hunting in their rugged habitats, often targeting prey up to three times their own size. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Skip to content. Lahore -: Lahore is a big city in Pakistan, which is a country next to India. Punjab Wildlife Department -: The Punjab Wildlife Department is a government group in Pakistan that works to protect animals and nature. Snow Leopard -: A snow leopard is a big, wild cat that lives in the mountains. They have thick fur and are very rare. Wildlife trafficking -: Wildlife trafficking is the illegal buying and selling of wild animals or their parts, like skin or bones. Social media -: Social media are websites and apps like Facebook or Instagram where people can share information and talk to each other. Maryam Aurangzeb -: Maryam Aurangzeb is a senior minister in Pakistan, which means she is an important government leader. Endangered -: Endangered means that there are very few of these animals left, and they might disappear forever if not protected. Northern Pakistan -: Northern Pakistan is the top part of Pakistan, where there are many mountains and cold weather. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Related News. Go to mobile version.

In burning heat, these Pakistanis find respite at a winter-themed park

Lahore buying snow

Investigation exposes illegal trade in the skins of rare species right in the heart of the main tourist attraction of Gilgit-Baltistan. Leopard cat pelts marketed by a vendor in Hunza as snow leopard skins, in an attempt to raise the price. Hunza, the crown jewel of Gilgit-Baltistan in northern Pakistan, is renowned for its wildlife, landscape, culture and organic food. Every year millions of both domestic and foreign tourists visit Gilgit Baltistan, particularly Hunza. Formerly known as the Northern Areas, Gilgit-Baltistan is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative territory, and constitutes the northern portion of the larger Kashmir area. As the region is home to unique carnivorous and ungulate species, including snow leopards, leopards, lynxes, Sulaiman markhor and Marco Polo sheep, tourists throng the valleys in a bid to see them. However, not everyone comes to Gilgit-Baltistan with the same intent. There are poachers entering the region under the guise of wildlife tourism. There are also people trading the skins of carnivorous species illegally right in the heart of the main tourist attraction of Gilgit-Baltistan — Hunza. An Oxpeckers investigation revealed that in the Karimabad valley of Hunza some of the shops selling shawls and cultural artefacts are openly trading leopard cat, red fox and mink skins; and caps and jackets made from the fur of Himalayan wolf and red fox. One vendor had up to five leopard cat skins. Snow leopards are classified as a distinct taxonomic species from leopard cats, which are small wild cats native to continental South, Southeast and East Asia and are listed as of least concern on the Red List of Endangered Species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN. A member of the investigating team wears the pelt of a red fox for the picture. The Oxpeckers investigating team went to the markets disguised as tourists and sought permission from the vendors to take photos of the skins. Looking at photos of the wolf caps, Dr Abbas said the fur was from the Himalayan wolf found in Gilgit-Baltistan. There are still fragmented populations in the region, though the wolves are hunted extensively in Gilgit, Diamer and Astore districts for predating on livestock, he said. Similarly, red foxes are killed for attacking poultry, Dr Abbas said. When the Hunza vendor was asked whether the skins he was selling came from snow leopards actually leopard cats hunted in Gilgit-Baltistan or whether they were brought in from outside Pakistan, he said they were smuggled through the Wakhan Corridor — a narrow strip of territory in Afghanistan, extending to China and separating Tajikistan from Pakistan. For centuries traders from Hunza valley in Gilgit-Baltistan and the Wakhi tribe in Afghanistan have engaged in barter trade at the Wakhan Corridor. The possibility of the Wakhan Corridor being used for wildlife trafficking requires further investigation, said Dr Ali Nawaz, director of the Snow Leopard Foundation in Pakistan. Nawaz said the foundation had conducted a detailed survey on the illegal hunting and trade in snow leopards in More recent figures on the hunting and illegal trade of the elusive cat in the region are not available. According to Nawaz, snow leopard poaching incidents are still taking place in Gilgit-Baltistan and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but they have reduced recently due to the introduction of tough laws by the wildlife departments. Nawaz said research had shown hunters sell the snow leopard pelts to traders for a meagre amount, indicating that the trader or middleman gets the real profit. A snow leopard poacher who was arrested after this picture went viral on social media. Dr Saeed Abbas of KIU believes that illegal trade is going on unabated in Gilgit-Baltistan, and the hides of snow leopards and other endangered species are being sold to tourists. The survey showed a total of 14 social media groups out of 24, and 14 Facebook pages out of assessed, were found to be involved in the illegal sale of wildlife in Pakistan, Abbas said. In a separate incident in that took place in Misgar valley of Hunza, a snow leopard was killed in retaliation for the loss of livestock by locals and its body was found without the skin. Such incidents indicate that even in the case of human-snow leopard conflict, the snow leopard is not just killed but its skin is also peeled off to be sold in the market, Abbas said. The poacher was arrested by the Forest, Parks, Wildlife and Environment Department in Gilgit-Baltistan and the snow leopard skin was confiscated. He is of the view that the possibility of illegal hunting of snow leopards in the region cannot be ruled out. He insisted that illegal hunting of snow leopards is not taking place in Gilgit-Baltistan. In fact, Ahmed believes that the population of snow leopards in the region has increased. The matter is still in court. Even if the wild animal has died a natural death, it still belongs to the government. To further reduce demand and poaching for snow leopard skins, Ahmed said his department is planning to develop artificial snow leopard skins. This approach has helped to reduce demand for common leopard skins in other parts of the world. Snow leopard claws for sale in a market in Urumqi in Western China. Photo courtesy Ma Ming. Ashiq Ahmed Khan, a senior wildlife expert in Pakistan, denied the existence of any organised racket of snow leopard poachers operating within Gilgit-Baltistan. Hardly five snow leopards might be hunted in a given year, which is documented. Other than that, it is not documented. All the experts indicated that there is limited information available about possible trade in the bones of snow leopards and the smuggling of their body parts to China, where wild cat parts are sold for medicinal and commercial potions. Dr Ali Nawaz of the Snow Leopard Foundation agreed that the possibility of smuggling snow leopard skin and bones to China cannot be ruled out. This investigation was produced in partnership with Daily Pakistan, which published it here. Use our WildEye Asia tracking tool to find details on snow leopard crimes. Tourism adds to pressures on snow leopards in northern Pakistan. Tags: WildEye , Asia , environmental crime , Pakistan , snow leopards , tourism. Print page. Oxpeckers Reporters figav mweb.

Lahore buying snow