Houbara bustard removed from protected bird list

Houbara bustard removed from protected bird list

Lahore: Punjab government has informed the Lahore High Court (LHC) that houbara bustard has been removed from the list of protected birds.

LHC Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah heard identical petitions, challenging hunting permits issued to the Qatari royal family members.

During the proceeding of the case, Punjab Wildlife Department submitted a report in the LHC, stating that a survey conducted in last year showed a reasonable increase in the number of houbara bustard.

The court expressed concern over the move, directing the department’s counsel about the criteria adopted in the survey to know the population of the bird.