Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Friday lifted a ban on the hunting of the Houbara bustard, an endangered migratory bird, whose meat is prized by elite Arab sheikhs for its aphrodisiac value.
The ban on the Houbara bustard, about the size of a chicken, was imposed by former chief justice Jawwad S Khawaja on August 20 last year, who also ordered the cancellation of all existing permits issued by government to Arab rulers. The federal and provincial Governments in October had challenged the ban, pleading that sustainable hunting should be allowed. A five-member larger bench headed by Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali lifted the ban in a verdict on the review petitions. Though the decision was not unanimous and there was one dissenting note by Justice Qazi Faez Isa who opposed the bench’s order. The petitioners had pleaded that issuing hunting permits to Arabs dignitaries was part of foreign policy. The Attorney General Salman Butt asked the Supreme Court to allow “sustainable hunting” of the bird.