Pakistan’s houbara bird facing extinction
The indiscriminate hunting of endangered houbara bustard birds in Pakistan by rich hunting parties from the Gulf nations have pushed the species toward extinction. The hunting was initially banned by the Pakistani courts, but under continuous pressure from the provincial governments of Sind, Baluchistan, and Punjab, as wellas thefederal government, recentlythe courts lifted the ban on the hunting of this vulnerable species. Some people in Pakistan have been advocating for sustainable hunting of the species instead of a complete ban, but this is highly debatable. Reckless hunting for decades has pushed this beautiful species toward extinction and it is now critically endangered in Pakistan. No reliable or credible statistics on the population dynamics of the species are available either. Unless specially protected by the law, the species runs the risk of becoming extinct in the wild in the next few decades. Under these circumstances, the only logical approach to save the species from extinction in the not-so-distant future is to immediately start comprehensive captive breeding program for the species across the nation. If the captive breeding program runs succesfully and produces an appreciable number of chicks, then reintroduction programs could be initiated in their wild habitats. Only after rebuilding the population for some time in the wild and allowing them to breed naturally to reach a sustainable population could some restricted hunting be planned. Currently, the low numbers have made this species vulnerable and with zero or poor monitoring, sustainable hunting practices in Pakistan for this dwindling species will not work. Game hunting works only when a stable
population is achieved with strict monitoring on the ratio of males to females hunted per season. If the females (no true statistics available) are being taken out of the population through random hunting, the population is sure to pass through a bottleneckin the wild habitat, with high vulnerability to eventual extinction. The people of Pakistan need to decide what is more important-afew petrodollars or protecting the biodiversity of the nation.
Saikat Kumar Basu Lethbridge, Canada What is the subject of the text?
A. The extinction of Pakistan’s houbara bird
B. The hunting of Pakistan’s houbara bird
C. The conservation of Pakistan’s houbara bird
D. The rehabilitation of Pakistan’s biodiversity
E. The protection of Pakistan’s biodiversity
Jawab: A
Teks tersebut menceritakan mengenai kepunahan burung Pakistan houbara. Jadi, jawabannya adalah The extinction of Pakistan’s houbara bird.
