A Group Of Hunters In D.I. Khan Has Massacred Hundreds Of Sparrows

A hunting party appears to have carried out a massacre of hundreds of sparrows in the Kulachi tehsil of D.I. Khan district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Led by a man identified as Muhammad Sajid on social media, the group of hunters killed the little birds en masse and appear to be justifying it by claiming that the birds are migratory and not a native species.

They posted images of the remains of the birds and their meat: some collected in a pot and some on a skewer. Photos circulating on social media also displayed an assortment of hunting weapons.

Sparrows are on the UK's IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. They are also known to be under severe threat in India and Pakistan. The decline in sparrow populations is mostly attributed to urbanization, pollution, deforestation and removal of native trees which are most suitable for sparrows to nest in.

Sparrows are also consumed as an exotic food in Pakistan, in much the same way as quails and partridges. The 'chira' is considered a delicacy in parts of Punjab and elsewhere. Some of the consumption may also be due to folk beliefs that link eating the birds with aphrodisiac effects for men.