Local police that have banned hunting wild animals have arrested over 40 hunters in the last three months in a town of Diyala province on the borders with Iran and referred them to court
The Director of the Forestry and Environmental Protection Police in Khanaqin district revealed that 43 hunters have been referred to the courts during the past three months, and demanded the residents of the villages to cooperate with them in order to protect the wild animals and birds in the area.
Hawry Jalil Qadir, director of the Forestry and Environment Protection Police in Khanaqin, affiliated to the Kurdistan Regional Government KRG and assumes its duties within the borders of Khanaqin district which is currently under the authority of Iraqi federal government, told KirkukNow, "In the period from September 17 to December 14 of this year, we were able to arrest 43 hunters, referred their cases to the courts and some of them have been tried.”
"The hunters continue to hunt wild animals and birds day and night. In return, we try to prevent them from doing so. Most of the time the hunters clash with us in an attempt to escape from the police and some policemen have been injured so far. A policeman was martyred last year."
Last week, a member of the Forest Protection Police was seriously injured by gunfire of hunters who shot him.
"A bullet hit his chest and he is now lying in his house," Qadir added.
Early this week, the Forest Protection Police arrested a hunter and referred his case to the court. According to Qadir, the arrested person has been hunting wild animals and birds regularly.
The fishermen who are arrested by the Forest Protection Police Directorate are punished in the courts of the Kurdistan Region under the Law of Protection and Improvement of the Environment in the Kurdistan Region.
The law states that “the person who violates the provisions of this law and the regulations and instructions issued according to it, shall be punished by imprisonment for a period of no less than one month or by a fine of no less than 150,000 Iraqi Dinar (USD100) and not more than 200 million dinars ($135,000) or both penalties.”
A number of weapons and hunting equipment confiscated by the Garmian Forest Protection Police Directorate. Media of Garmian Forest Protection Police
The war-ravaged country is losing many of its animals, such as otters, deer, songbirds, and more day after day due to habitat loss and hunting which is not monitored regularly and led to overhunting, a story by nationalgeographic.com says.
Before its 40 years of near-unbroken hostilities, Iraq teemed with life, including a half-dozen types of cats, an impressive array of falcons, and several hundred species of fish.
In the north, hunters focus on wild deer and pig. Iraq was also well known for its snake population.
But in recent decades, wildlife sightings are becoming more and more rare, conservationists say. Due to the ongoing conflict, scientific data on species decline are scarce. At least 31 bird species are threatened or at the point of extinction, according to Nature Iraq, a local nonprofit.
During the past three months, 43 fishermen in Khanaqin were referred to the courts, and some of them were punished, while other cases are investigated.
Qadir explained that the penalty for killing a wild bird is a fine of 250 thousand dinars, and the amount of the fine imposed varies according to the type of animal, for example the fine for killing a deer is five million dinars ($3,400).
"Sometimes the villagers help the hunters, while others cooperate with us which makes it easier for us to catch the hunters."
The director of Forest Protection Police demanded the provincial government to provide them with more supplies and equipment.
