Hunting should be banned, said Ahmed Hassan in his petition. “No one should be allowed to hunt falcon.”
The court named Ahmed as a respondent in the petition on stopping the transfer of falcons abroad.
Chief Justice Athar Minallah said Pakistan has export and import policies. “Hunting is not good for the survival of the birds.”
A government official said some falcons have been transferred to Gulf states. The foreign ministry asked for more time to submit its reply in the case.
Falcons are often used by wealthy hunting parties from the Gulf who travel to Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province every winter to catch and kill houbara bustards.
An earlier ban on the sport was overturned by Pakistan’s top court.
Two hundred rare falcons were reportedly exported to Qatar from Pakistan earlier this year on special permission.
Wildlife traffickers too catch falcons in the mountainous north, and often sell them for profit in the Gulf region, where hunting with the birds is a sport.
