Punjab wildlife authorities have intensified action against illegal blood sports involving wild animals, with recent operations leading to arrests and heavy fines for suspects engaged in bear-baiting and wild boar hunting with dogs.
In Murree, Assistant Chief Wildlife Ranger Muhammad Ibrar and his team intercepted six men preparing to hunt wild boars with dogs. The suspects were fined a total of Rs120,000 and released after settlement.
A similar attempt in Bahawalpur was thwarted by Assistant Chief Wildlife Ranger Tariq Abbas Khosa, who imposed a Rs35,000 penalty on one suspect. Officials confirmed that despite a provincial ban, such practices remain widespread in rural areas.
Over the past year, several incidents of dog-and-boar fights and bear-baiting have surfaced across Punjab.
In February 2024, a video from Dera Ghazi Khan’s village Duna showed a bear mauled by dogs, prompting investigations. Footage from Jalalpur Pirwala, Multan, also resurfaced the same year, showing a black bear tied and attacked by dogs, sparking condemnation from animal rights groups at home and abroad.
Authorities later rescued the bear and moved it to a zoo. Similar cases have been reported in Rahim Yar Khan, Sargodha, Dera Ghazi Khan, Okara, and Pattoki, some linked to organised betting.
In July 2025, Punjab Wildlife Rangers rescued a black bear from illegal captivity in Bhalwal, Sargodha, relocating it to Jauharabad Wildlife Park.
According to experts, Pakistan hosts an estimated 600–650 Asiatic black bears and 200–250 Himalayan brown bears. Most bears recovered in Punjab are not found in the wild but from captivity, often handed over to sanctuaries.
The Balkasar Bear Sanctuary in Chakwal currently houses around 28 rescued bears.
Punjab Wildlife officials said bear-baiting and wild boar hunting with dogs are punishable under the Punjab Wildlife Act 1974 (amended), with penalties ranging from Rs100,000 to Rs1 million and imprisonment of three to five years.
Animal rights groups continue to demand stricter enforcement. Wildlife Conservator and Punjab Wildlife Management Board member, Badr Munir, said such practices are often staged under the patronage of influential landlords as public spectacles.
“Bears used in baiting are deliberately mutilated—teeth pulled out or metal rings forced through their noses—to prevent them from fighting back,” he explained. “These inhumane spectacles are not only torturous for animals but also a disgrace to society,” he said, urging the public to report such incidents to authorities for immediate action.
