A court in Rahim Yar Khan has handed down Punjab’s first conviction for illegal Chinkara deer hunting, sentencing four men to one year in prison along with fines totaling Rs4 million, with an additional six months’ jail time in case of non-payment.
The case was registered in 2023 by the Rahim Yar Khan Wildlife Rangers following an incident of poaching in the Cholistan Desert. Proceedings were held at the Khanpur Civil Court, with Assistant Chief Wildlife Ranger Mujahid Kaleem Khan pursuing the case.
The convicted individuals, Saleem Sargodhi, Sadiq Mangria, Pannu Mangria, and Rafiq Parhiyar were taken into custody immediately after the verdict.
Assistant Chief Wildlife Ranger Mujahid Kaleem Khan welcomed the ruling, calling it a significant deterrent against future poaching in the Cholistan Public Wildlife Reserve.
Read: Punjab wildlife department lodges over 125 FIRs against illegal hunting
“This decision sends a clear message to hunters that such crimes will no longer be tolerated,” he stated.
The judgment follows amendments to the Punjab Wildlife Act in 2021, which increased punishments for wildlife crimes. Under the revised law, illegal hunting of blackbuck, Chinkara, hog deer, or urial carries one to three years of imprisonment and fines ranging from Rs200,000 to Rs1 million per animal.
Deputy Chief Wildlife Ranger Bahawalpur Region, Syed Ali Usman Bukhari, reaffirmed the department’s commitment to protecting and conserving wildlife in Cholistan, Pakistan’s second-largest desert.
Despite being home to blackbuck, Chinkara, nilgai, urial, and numerous bird species, decades of poaching have led to sharp declines in their populations.
