Kuwaiti embassy calls on nationals to abide by Iraqi hunting laws
Hunters with their birds of prey prior to a hunt in the Anbar desert, west of Iraq. Al-Monitor
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Kuwaiti Embassy in Baghdad called on citizens Saturday to abide by Iraqi laws concerning bird hunting especially in Muthanna governorate and the southern region of the Arab country.
In a statement, a copy of which was obtained by Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), the embassy urged the Kuwaiti visitors to abide by the law to protect themselves from harm and legal prosecution.
The past few decades have been intensely challenging for many Iraqis, who’ve lived through several conflicts, crippling economic sanctions and terrorist threats.
In recent decades, wildlife sightings in Iraq have become more and more rare, conservationists told National Geographic magazine. 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.
“For thousands of years we had plenty of wildlife, from Zakho [in the north] to Faw [in the south],” says Adel Musa, director of Baghdad Zoo, where some of Iraq’s few remaining big cats now reside.
“But after all this war, all of Iraq’s circumstances, I am sad to say they are greatly depleted.”