Saudi Royal Accused of Killing Thousands of Endangered Birds During Three-Week Hunting Spree

A Saudi royal is accused of killing nearly 2,000 nearly extinct birds during a three-week hunting trip to Pakistan, a Pakistani news site reported.

According to the report in Pakistan’s Dawn News, Prince Fahd bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud was on safari this past January in Chagai, Balochistan in Pakistan when he killed the large number of houbara bustards, an endangered species.

The Dawn reported that Fahd was illegally hunting in protected areas. The news site cited a report from the divisional forest officer of Balochistan forest and wildlife department, Jaffar Baloch, which said that during the trip that started Jan. 11, the prince hunted 1,977 birds while his companions killed 123 birds.

The endangered houbara bustard. (Image source: Wikipedia Commons/Jimfbleak)

The report said that while hunting the endangered houbara bustard is banned in Pakistan, the government issues special permits to royals from the Persian Gulf who are reported to believe that the meat of the endangered bird is an aphrodisiac.

UPI reported that Prince Fahd maintains that the Pakistani government issued him a hunting permit, though the government says it was only for small-scale hunting, that is, up to 100 houbara bustards in 10 days.

Bustards are protected under the Convention on International Trade and Endangered Species, UPI reported.