Pakistan’s federal government has issued a stark ultimatum to provincial authorities, declaring that any region failing to submit annual wildlife population surveys will be entirely barred from receiving trophy hunting quotas starting next year, a significant move to enforce evidence-based conservation.
The directive came from Federal Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, Senator Dr. Musadik Malik, during a high-level meeting of Pakistan’s CITES Management Authority on Friday. He ordered a comprehensive review of the 2025-26 trophy hunting allocations, insisting on strict adherence to scientific and conservation-focused standards.
Dr. Malik underscored that hunting permits must remain fully compliant with international CITES regulations, noting that allocations cannot exceed 2% of any species’ total population. He stressed that all approvals must be rooted in credible and regularly conducted wildlife censuses to ensure long-term ecological sustainability.
A novel aspect of the revised policy includes a focus on the social dynamics of animal groups. The minister expressed concern that disruptions to dominant males, breeding circles, and herd hierarchies could severely harm reproductive cycles and population stability.
To address these ecological intricacies, Dr. Malik ordered the creation of a joint study plan with provincial wildlife departments. This initiative will assess population figures alongside social structures to establish best practices for responsible and sustainable trophy hunting.
As an immediate measure, provincial bodies were instructed to submit analytical data from their latest wildlife surveys within two days. For the current season, regions that have not yet supplied updated figures will be permitted to retain last year’s hunting limits.
The meeting included key stakeholders, with representatives from the Wildlife and Forest Departments of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Balochistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan, alongside officials from the Zoological Survey of Pakistan, in attendance.