Pakistan issues houbara hunting permits to Gulf states dignitaries

Pakistan has issued 33 special hunting licenses to the dignitaries of five Gulf states, government officials said recently.
According to sources, dignitaries from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait have been granted permits to hunt houbara bustard, during the current hunting season.
Sources said that Kuwait has joined in the highly restricted list of hunters only recently for the first time.
Houbara is listed in the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals as one of the most rare bird species of the world.
People belonging to the rural areas of Pakistan say that the meat of the rare bird has aphrodisiac qualities, a notion not supported by scientific evidence.
The brown and white bird is 60 centimeter long with a 140-centimeter wingspan. It has a black stripe down the sides of its neck.
Every year during winter, millions of houbara birds from Siberia migrate toward the warmer parts of the globe, namely Pakistan, which is regarded as an important wintering ground for them.
Apart from Pakistan until late 1970s, Arab dignitaries used to choose Iran and Afghanistan for hunting. But due to the fall of Shah of Iran and the war in Afghanistan, Pakistan became the sole destination for the bird hunters.
Islamabad enjoys good relations with the Gulf states and experts say the decision to issue permits will help strengthen ties with the Arab world.