Farming of frogs and turtles in the cards (Pakistan) – via Herp Digest

by Asif Mahmood, Published in The Express Tribune, Pakistan, October 9^th, 2019.

PHOTO: EXPRESS

LAHORE: 

The Punjab Fisheries Department has sent a proposal to the provincial cabinet regarding the farming of frogs and turtles in the province.

The aim is to provide these turtles and frogs to medical colleges for experiments and exporting them to various countries, including China, Thailand, Taiwan, so that Pakistan can generate revenue.

The department, which is a sub-division of the Punjab Forest Department, has sent recommendations for the breeding of frogs and turtles to the provincial government. If the summary gets approved by the authorities, farming of frogs and turtles can be initiated in different districts across the province by next year.

Punjab Fisheries Department Assistant Director Ghulam Qadir has confirmed that his department had sent the proposal to the provincial government. 

At present, there is no place in Pakistan where farming of frogs and turtles is taking place, he said, adding that they have to either catch frogs and turtles for medical colleges and universities or import them from overseas.

The assistant director said that if we start farming these turtles and frogs at a local level, it will benefit farmers at a fair price, and will help in conserving the different kinds of turtles and frogs present in the wild.

He said that the government has been briefed about a proposal. Turtles and frogs are used as seafood, internationally and sold at a very high price. Therefore, through farming, we would be able to export these species to China, Thailand, Taiwan and other countries where the demand is very high, Qadir explained.

Pakistan also has a large number of Chinese people currently living in the country and to cater to their food requirements we have to import turtles and frogs from other countries, said Qadir. He added that there are some rare kinds of turtles, which are protected under the Wildlife Act, but the rest of the turtles can be bred through farming.

It has also been reported that a pond on one acre usually contains 1,000 fish. In comparison, a one-acre pond can easily be used for farming up to 10,000 frogs. It is also not necessary to clean the water as frogs can thrive in polluted water ponds. For their oxygen intake, they come to the surface.

According to the Punjab Fisheries Department, frogs lay eggs in stagnant water and their breeding process is rapid so there would be no need of producing a large number of frogs for farming because hundreds of eggs can be obtained from a few dozen pairs of frogs.

Hong Kong Officials ask Pakistan to Receive 751 smuggled turtles - Herp Digest

by Faiza Ilyaa - Karachi-Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2015 

The Hong Kong authorities have recently approached Pakistani officials with a request to receive a consignment of 751 black pond turtles that were being smuggled into their territory over a month ago, it emerged on Sunday.

According to sources, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) management authorities of Hong Kong had contacted their Pakistani counterparts last month and informed them about the seizure of 751 black pond turtles (Geoclemys hamiltonii).

The freshwater species consignment with an international protected status, the sources said, was concealed in a fishing vessel sailing in the Hong Kong waters in February this year.

Although the Hong Kong officials haven’t yet confirmed the origin of turtles and the case is still under investigation, a request was sent to the CITES management authorities of Pakistan to consider receiving and releasing these turtles into the wild since Hong Kong is not the range state of these turtle and the species might be smuggled out of Pakistan.

The Hong Kong officials that also offered to bear the delivery cost, sources said, had asked Pakistani counterparts to provide information on turtle smuggling in their region.

According to sources, Pakistani officials had informed the Hong Kong officials about the Hongda Trading Company that was involved in a recent turtle smuggling case reported at Karachi port. The company had previously sent three shipments to Hong Kong in the cover of a certificate declaring these turtles as fish maw.

The Hong Kong authorities, sources, said, were investigating the company’s links in their territory. In the meantime, the federal officials had asked the Sindh wildlife department for their opinion over the matter.

Majority of the officials in Sindh, the sources pointed out, were in favour of receiving the turtles from Hong Kong considering the depleting population of freshwater turtles in the province and its subsequent impact on ecology.

“Yes, the issue is being debated and soon a decision will be taken,” confirmed the Sindh wildlife conservator, adding that if the Sindh government decided to take and release the turtles into the wild, all the required scientific protocols would be met.

It is noteworthy that a Hong-Kong bound consignment of dried body parts of over 4,000 freshwater turtles was confiscated at the Karachi port last month. It was officially declared as the largest seizure involving turtles in the country’s history.

The body parts were identified as those of Indian narrow-headed softshell turtles, a critically endangered and protected reptile in the country.

Last September, over 200 black pond turtles were confiscated at the Karachi airport.

The species were found in the luggage of a man who had arrived from Lahore. Forty-five turtles died due to suffocation and injuries they suffered during travel while over 170 turtles that survived were later released into the Haleji Lake.

The same month, another batch of 200 smuggled black pond turtles was released into the Indus River (in the Kalar block) near the Rohri forest. They were smuggled out of Sindh and confiscated in Taxkorgan, China. The turtles were handed over to Pakistani officials in a ceremony held at Khunjrab Pass on the Pakistan-China border.

Eight different species of freshwater turtles are found in Pakistan — five of them are globally threatened species — namely Indian soft-shell turtle, Indian peacock soft-shell turtle, Indian narrow-headed soft-shell turtle, Indian flap-shell turtle, black pond turtle, Indian roofed turtle, brown roofed turtle and crowned river turtle.

All these species are listed in the CITES Appendices I & II that means their import and export without a legal permit is prohibited. These turtles are found in the entire Indus River system. The range states of the black pond turtle include southern Pakistan (Indus and Ganges River drainages), northeastern India (Assam), and Bangladesh.

The Sindh government last year declared all freshwater turtle/tortoise species found in Pakistan as protected and included them in the Schedule II of the Sindh Wildlife Ordinance 1972. Rules were also framed to impose heavy penalties on turtle poachers and smugglers.

The information gathered from the internet shows that illegal turtle trade is thriving in the region. Last year, 88 black pond turtles destined for Bangkok were seized at the Chennai airport and 230 endangered Hamilton turtles which were smuggled from India were seized at the Bangkok airport.

Dams Imperil Pakistan's Endangered River Dolphins

By Tia Ghose, Staff Writer | July 16, 2014 02:00pm ET

Editor's Note: This story was updated at 5:10 p.m. E.T.

The Indus River dolphin's habitat is shrinking because of irrigation dams that divide up the river into sections, new research suggests.

The findings support conservationists' long-held suspicion that dams along the world's major rivers have been catastrophic for the species that live there.

Read on

Threat to species highlighted

Anil Datta

Friday, April 19, 2013 

Karachi 

It is just a chance confluence of art and environmentalism. 

Talking about his entry into the realm of ecology, the noted and globally acknowledged artist, Anjum Ayaz, recounted how he was really heartbroken when on a recent visit to Thar, he saw peacocks dying of some disease or the other. He says that immediately his mind was deluged with flashbacks of peacock dances, with tails fanned out and rhythmic steps, an expression of the bird’s ecstasy on savouring the rain, casting nature in all its glory. He says it was this gloomy comparison of the past decades with the present that compelled him to take on environmentalism as his calling. 

He was addressing environment enthusiasts and the media at the Alliance Francaise Thursday evening at the inauguration of the project, “Noah’s Ark: the Rehabitat”, the term Rehabitat being a hybrid between Rehabilitation and Habitat, held under the joint aegis of Canopy, an NGO committed to environmental conservation, and the Alliance Francaise. 

He said that for this purpose, he and Canopy were collaborating to build a wooden boat around 70 feet long, which would be put by the seaside and would house stuffed animals and models of endangered species, to acquaint schoolchildren and the public with the environmental degradation that is going on all around them and the way species of animals are disappearing so rapidly owing to the ravages of commercialism and “development”. 

“There has been a 30-35 percent reduction in the number of migratory birds,” Ayaz said. 

Khalid Hassan Khan, Project Director, Canopy, informed the participants that 34 species of mammals and 105 species of birds had become extinct since 1900. Annually, he said, we were losing one species. 

“We are witnessing the sixth major extinction of species in history,” he said and cited the case of the Golden Toad which, he said, had not been sighted after 1898. Rhinoceroses, which he said were native to the Savannah grasslands in Africa, had been reduced to 30 percent of their original number. 

Among the other endangered species on a global scale that were mentioned were the polar bear and the tiger. The tiger was termed an “animal under stress”. 

All the speakers said conservation of animals was absolutely imperative to the maintenance of balance in the forces of nature, which steered the planet on an even keel. “Animals are the crowning glory of nature and creation and we must endeavour to preserve them,” Ayaz said. 

Khan said 2005 and 2010 were the warmest years recorded and these coincided with havoc-wreaking flash floods in Pakistan’s Sindh province, Australia, Europe and North America. 

He also projected a slide showing a shotgun-flaunting mustachioed feudal of Sindh, a member of an influential political party, “proudly” kneeling beside the carcasses of two Markhor goats he had shot, utterly oblivious to the death of a valuable species, a gift of nature, that his callous activity was generating. Markhor, an endangered species, is native to the high altitude areas of Pakistan. 

The slide presentation and talks were followed by an exhibition of paintings of endangered species by Anjum Ayaz, alongside stuffed endangered species. 

http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-4-172172-Threat-to-species-highlighted

Cheetahs in snow? See the video

Where can you see cheetah in snow? Iran holds the only surviving population of Asiatic cheetah. Photo credit Iran Cheetah Society

Where is the only place on earth where you can see cheetahs in snow? January 2013. Many people are surprised to learn that there is a population of cheetah in Iran at all. They are the last surviving remnant of the Asiatic cheetah race. Once distributed from the Indian subcontinent across Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Iran to the Arabian Peninsula and Syria, the Asiatic cheetah is now on the verge of extinction and one of the most endangered members of the cat family in the world. The last surviving cheetahs in Iran mostly live in the semi arid and mountainous northern regions, where there are regular snow falls in winter months. The last cheetahs in India were shot in 1947. Since then, the Asiatic cheetah has disappeared from most of its former range. In the last 20 years, Iran has been the final stronghold for the Asiatic cheetah, known in Iran as yuz, although there have been occasional reports of cheetahs in Pakistan, Kazakhstan. According to the latest population surveys in Iran, the cheetah population in Iran does not exceed 70 individuals. There has been some recent controversy in Iran about the cheetah population of Iran, and it has been extensively discussed in the media. On the basis of recent camera trapping efforts ongoing since last winter by the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) in collaboration with Iranian Department of Environment (DoE), Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah Project (CACP) and Panthera, the most robust conclusion for the population is fewer than 70.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/snow-cheetah.html

Flight of The Mystery Drone: Bird ‘Bot Flew over Iraq

It wasn’t just Pakistan. The weird, vaguely avian drone of unknown origin that curiously showed up in Pakistan last year apparently made a different flight — to Iraq. It may have even migrated to Pakistan from Basra.

In August 2011, Pakistani forces recovered a small, silver, unarmed aircraft that had crashed in Balochistan province. With silver wings and a span about the size of a grown man’s outstretched arms, the drone was clearly more than a hobbyist’s toy: the remains of a camera were near the crash site, a camera that fit into the robotic bird’s belly, ostensibly for spying on insurgents. No one claimed responsibility for the drone, but when Danger Room checked into it, we found it suspiciously reminiscent of Festo’s SmartBird, a drone that used the herring gull to inspire its design, although there were enough differences in the wings, tail and fuselage to render it distinct.

The mystery continues. A reader of David Cenciotti’s Aviationist blog found new imagery of the unknown bird, from at least two years before its Pakistani excursion. And apparently, its earlier spotters were Iraqi insurgents.

Continued:  http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/09/mystery-drone-iraq/

Pakistani labs confirm sheep infected

KARACHI: Sindh livestock authorities Saturday confirmed the consumption of the sheep imported from Australia was injurious for health, Geo News reported.

According to officials, random blood and mouth tissue samples of the sheep have tested positive for the disease.

“The veterinary diagnostic laboratories in Islamabad an Tando Jam tested the blood samples of at least 80 sheep and the mouth tissue of nine of them”, an official added.

The authorities have warned the contagion was infecting other cattle as well, which could lead to an outbreak of the disease.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-67815-Pakistani-labs-confirm-sheep-infected

Pakistan's National Mammal Makes Comeback

ScienceDaily (July 3, 2012) — The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) announced July 3 that the markhor -- a majestic wild goat species -- is making a remarkable comeback in Pakistan due to conservation efforts.

WCS-led community surveys have revealed that markhor populations in northern Pakistan's Kargah region in Gilgit-Baltistan have increased from a low of approximately 40-50 individuals in 1991 to roughly 300 this year. These community surveys suggest that the total markhor population where WCS works in Gilgit-Baltistan may now be as high as 1,500 animals, a dramatic increase since the last government estimate of less than 1,000 in 1999.

Pakistan's national mammal, markhor are known for their spectacular, corkscrew horns that can reach nearly five feet in length. They are an important prey species for large carnivores such as wolves and snow leopards. Markhor have been listed as Endangered by IUCN since 1994, with a 2008 global population estimate of less than 2,500 animals across five countries: Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and India. They are threatened by illegal hunting, habitat destruction, and competition from domestic goats and sheep.

Continued:
 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120703161459.htm

Doctors fight to save baby with six legs

Doctors in Pakistan are fighting to save the life of a baby boy born with six legs because of a rare genetic condition.

The infant was born to the wife of an X-ray technician a week ago, Jamal Raza, the director of National Institute of the Child Health in Karachi, said.

"It is not one baby actually. They are two, one of them is premature," he said.

A doctor at the institute who did not wish to be named said the extra limbs were the result of a genetic disease which would affect only one in a million or more babies.

"The doctors are examining the infant to plan for necessary treatment to save the baby's life and ensure he lives a normal life," said a statement from the provincial health department.

Imran Shaikh, the baby's father who lives in Sukkur, around 280 miles north of Karachi, said he was grateful his son was being treated.

"We are a poor family. I am thankful to the government for helping us treating my baby," he told the media.

Source: AFP

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/9208540/Doctors-fight-to-save-baby-with-six-legs.html

In Pakistan, a hunt for the million-dollar falcons

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — So what happened to the million-dollar falcons?

That’s the question Pakistani officials have to answer for a wealthy Arab sheikh who alleges that the government snatched his four rare falcons — valued at 350 million rupees, or nearly $3.9 million — from the Islamabad airport.

The birds apparently were released into the wild — but maybe not. Customs and wildlife officials have been ordered to produce the falcons.

Sheikh Muhammad Sultan Ahmed Mualla, a United Arab Emirates prince, filed a lawsuit this month to force officials to hand over the birds. The sheikh says the falcons were brought into the country legally, with all required passports, visas and medical certificates.

The lawsuit states that the situation “may affect foreign relations of both the countries and will lower the prestige of Pakistan in the comity of nations,” according to local media.

Falcons in the UAE are issued passports to combat illegal trading and smuggling of the birds. They are in high demand in the region because they are used in the centuries-old sport of falconry, which is popular in the Middle East.

Read on:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/in-pakistan-a-hunt-for-the-million-dollar-falcons/2012/03/30/gIQA4oqplS_story.html

Pakistan Whale Shark's Death a Mystery

Video of a dead whale shark being pulled from the sea off of Pakistan raises more questions about the school-bus-size fish's demise than it answers, scientists say.

Pakistani newspaper The Express Tribune posted video on Tuesday (Feb. 7) of a crane hauling a whale shark carcass onto a pier in Karachi. According to the newspaper, the owner of the nearby Charai Fishery, spotted the animal floating "unconscious" 10 days earlier, 93 miles (150 kilometers) from the fishery. 

But sharks don't fall unconscious, said Bob Hueter, the director of the Center for Shark Research at Mote Marine Laboratory in Florida. And if they stop swimming for any reason, they aren't likely to bob along with the currents.

"If and when they die, they don't float, they sink," Hueter told LiveScience. "So to have one just kind of wash up is very rare. I can only think of a few cases over the years around the world where this is happened."

Continued:  http://www.livescience.com/18376-pakistan-whale-shark.html

25 permits issued to hunt Houbara bustards in Pakistan

Permits issued to members of Middle East royal families - Courtesy of Dawn.com

December 2011. At least 25 special permits have been issued to dignitaries belonging to the Arabian peninsula allowing them to hunt the internationally protected Houbara bustard during the hunting season 2011-2012.

Sources said almost half of the 25 permits - 12 to be precise - had been issued to men from the United Arab Emirates, which, ironically, has recently launched a Houbara bustard conservation programme at The National Avian Research Centre of the International Fund for Houbara Conservation, under the auspices of the royal families of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Royalty given permits
Hunters from the State of Qatar and the Kingdom of Bahrain received seven and five permits, respectively, Saudi Arabia just one. The permit holders include at least three rulers, many crown princes, and other members of royal families. A few commoners have also been granted the special hunting permits.

Only the person specified in the permit could hunt the houbara for 10 days through falconry only and the bag limit being 100 birds, says the code of conduct issued with the hunting permits by the foreign ministry.

Houbara bustards
The Houbara bustard is widely prized in Arabia as a quarry for falconers, particularly because its meat is valued an aphrodisiac. Widespread hunting and loss of habitat have greatly reduced numbers.


To see the full list of those given permits, go to Dawn.com


http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/houbara-hunt.html