Published: Monday, 27 November, 2006, 10:36 AM Doha Time
Golf Times
Doha, Qatar
Ghanim Mohamed, Staff Reporter

ABOUT 1,000 falcons are imported every year by enthusiasts of the
traditional sport of falconry, a senior official of the Supreme
Council for the Environment and Natural Reserves (SCENR) said
yesterday.

"We are taking necessary measures to protect the species, in line
with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
(Cites) of Wild Fauna and Flora, to which Qatar is a party," Wildlife
Conservation and Development director Ghanim Abdullah Mohamed said.

Qatar recently restricted the import of falcons from September 1 to
January 31 of every year, contrary to the year-round import
permission earlier.

"We want to ensure that falcons are not caught from the wild during
their breeding season, which runs from April to July," Mohamed said.

Falcons are imported mostly from Pakistan, Egypt, Iran, the UAE,
Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the US and the UK. The importers have
to produce permits from the country concerned.

In Qatar, the hunting season is from September 1 to May 1 for the
permitted species, except for wild rabbits, which can be hunted only
from November 15 to January 31.

Wild rabbits, found in some parts of Qatar's north, are hunted using
Salukis, a breed of hunting dog.

Violators of the hunting period could be punished with a fine of
QR10,000, six months imprisonment, and/or confiscation of vehicles
involved.

"If Qataris mostly go to Saudi Arabia for hunting, there are some who
go as far as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Morocco and Pakistan, during the
season that extends from September to March," the official said.

The relevant permit has to be produced by the owner every time a
falcon is taken out of the country or brought in. SCENR has
inspectors round-the-clock at the airport, seaport, and the land
border to watch out against unauthorised wildlife imports.

"The number of wildlife smuggling cases has come down considerably,"
Mohamed added.