WHAT brings the oil-rich Sheikhs from the neighbouring areas to Pakistan every year is theirlureforthe neshof the houbara bustard and nothing else.
The poor bird migrates from Siberia to Pakistan and onwards for breeding. But on arrival, it is given such a `warm welcome` that it has become an endangered species.
Yet special permits for its hunting are issued to the visiting dignitaries and locals.
The bird is reclclessly hunted for pleasure.
It may not be a matter of concern to any foreigner whether a bird or an animal is an endangered species; it is a challenge for Pakistani bird-lovers to save a migratory bird.
The common belief that the flesh of the bird has any erotic value is debunked by modern medical science. For five years or more, hunting of the houbara may be strictly banned, so that it gets breathing space for its breeding. If the populationexceeds the economic threshold, the ban on hunting be lifted or relaxed as the authorities consider fit.
