Pakistan is fast losing several rare wild pheasant species due to a string of threats including habitat degradation, hunting, climate change and human intervention, with wildlife experts warning that their extinction would be “disastrous” for ecosystems and biodiversity. Due to increasing habitat loss driven by climate change, deforestation and poaching, the population of wild pheasants in Pakistan is under persistent threat, according to Mohebullah Naveed, a wildlife expert in the capital Islamabad. “Pheasants cannot thrive without their habitat,” Naveed, who is associated with a pheasant conservation project, told Anadolu.
Depletion of forest cover due to climate change and increasing housing and agriculture needs are primary reasons for the wild bird’s dwindling numbers, he said. While all native pheasant species are protected under local wildlife laws, hunting and poaching are an equally major threat to two main pheasant species in Pakistan, he said. “Poaching and hunting are mostly done by locals living close to the (pheasant) habitats.
They enjoy this as a sport, although hunting pheasants is illegal,” said Naveed, who serves as a wildlife conservation officer with the Himalayan Wildlife Foundation, an Islamabad-based wildlife group. Another motive behind the poaching and hunting of pheasants is their prized bush meat and beautiful feathers that are used in traditional hats in parts of northern Pakistan, he said. In addition, disturbances caused during the.